


Loki and the witchling

by Nekoamamori



Series: Loki and the Witchling [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-03-01 07:01:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 76
Words: 136,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13289559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekoamamori/pseuds/Nekoamamori
Summary: You are a healer working with the Avengers when Loki comes to join the team





	1. Chapter 1

    After six months of living at the Avenger’s tower, you still couldn’t quite believe it was all real. You’d been helping the Avengers off and on for the last couple of years after you had come on their radar for healing Clint during a mission when you were fifteen. You didn’t go advertising your abilities. It was dangerous to do so, and scared your foster parents when they inevitably found out, but when Clint had gotten shot on a mission not five feet away from you, it was impossible not to go to him and heal his wounds.

    After that, the Avengers would pop by occasionally, track you down when they needed healing. Bruce was surprisingly your most often visitor, since your abilities included calming his panic attacks. So you hadn’t been terribly surprised to see Avengers stopping by to bother you between classes, on your way to and from school, or out at the mall with your friends. At least they were always gracious on giving out autographs after you healed whatever trouble they had found themselves in. You didn’t mind healing them, plus Tony had promised you a job after you turned 18 and graduated from high school.

    You did start learning sign language so you could yell at Clint for _always_ getting injured even after he took out his hearing aids.

    Everything was going just fine until about six months ago when Thor came to find you, asking ever so politely to be healed. He had gotten his arm slashed open pretty deeply. You smiled and did the healing as usual. “Thank you, Lady Y/N” he bid you kindly as you got to work, placing a green glowing hand against his wound. It knit itself closed in a moment. Thor was giving you an odd look, though.

    “Is something wrong?” you asked when the healing was done. “Is there another wound?” He hadn’t seemed more wounded and you didn’t see any other injuries.

    “I know an illusion when I see one, Lady,” he commented carefully. You felt the color drain from your face. How had he known that you were wearing an illusion? “Please drop it,” he was holding your wrist so you couldn’t flee. You sighed and let the illusion drop, letting him see the massive bruise on your face and your black eye. “Who did this?” he demanded. You could hear the anger behind his words. “Do not think to lie to me, Lady. I have dealt with the god of lies my entire life,”

    Damn. You were trapped into giving him an answer. “My foster father,” you mumbled. “It’s ok. I shouldn’t have upset him!” you protested quickly before his anger could rise. You had jumped foster families so many times over the years. This one was no different than the rest.

    “This is certainly not ok,” he commented. He pulled you closer, wrapping his strong arm around you, holding you to him tightly, before you could protest. He swung Mjolnir around a few times and took to the skies, bringing you with him whether you wanted to or not. You did the only sane thing you could at that juncture and wrapped your arms around his muscled form. Flying was _not_ one of your skills.

    Thor had flown you to the Avengers tower. He landed on Tony’s landing platform and led you inside. There was no choice but to follow him. “Jarvis, assemble the others,” Thor ordered as you were led into a giant livingroom.

    “Thor, I’m fine!” you protested again. He just gave you a look and you quickly shut up. He wasn’t going to believe you. You didn’t want to cause more trouble, or get kicked to _another_ foster home.

    “Thor? What’s going on?” Cap asked as he entered the room. He was followed quickly by the rest of the Avengers. The word ‘assemble’ wasn’t taken lightly around here it seemed. You tried to hide behind Thor, to avoid being noticed, but that was impossible, even though Thor was huge. “Why’d you bring Y/N here? I thought we weren’t bringing her in until she was of age...”

    Thor pushed you out from behind him so everyone could see the bruise on your face. “She is not safe with those...foster guardians,” Thor’s voice was a deep growl. He was pissed and you wished yet again that you could heal yourself and not just others. None of this would have happened if you could.

    The next instant there was a whirlwind of activity. Tony called Pepper mentioning something about lawyers. Soon you found yourself in a car with Natasha in a procession of vehicles that held all of the Avengers in uniform. One of the cars held Pepper and Tony’s very expensive lawyers. You and Natasha went up to the room you shared with three other kids to pack your small suitcase of belongings. Your foster parents wisely signed you over, or however it worked with the lawyers, to the care of the Avengers and you moved into the tower that very day.

    You didn’t go on many missions with the team yet. Tony and more importantly Cap wanted you to graduate from high school before you joined full-time. No one in Shield argued with them on that point either. So you mostly earned your keep by healing up the team when they came back from their missions.

    It was late one evening when the team came back. You got up from the couch where you’d been watching a movie to greet them. They actually all seemed uninjured tonight, though Bruce was being...Bruce, so you went to him first with the calming smile you had perfected for him. You offered him a hand and sent calming energy into him. He gave you a shaky smile in return.

    There was a newcomer with them tonight. You recognized Loki from the news, of course, but the news had failed to capture how handsome he was, or the sad, lonely expression in his eyes. He looked sullen, but you had seen that exact expression on too many of the foster kids faces, including your own about three families back, when you tried not to form attachments for fear of being hurt.

    “Lady Y/N, allow me to introduce my brother, Loki. He will be living with us and is joining the team.” Thor boomed the introductions, just like he boomed nearly everything he said. You smiled and offered Loki a hand.

    “Nice to meet you.” He didn’t shake it. You weren’t surprised. One, he was being sullen, pretending to be a big scary villain, or whatever act he was portraying... you could see it was an act; two his hands were chained. So instead you reached your hand up to his face and healed the cut over his eye. His eyes widened in shock and fascination.

    “Don’t bother with Reindeer Games,” Tony told you grumpily. "He doesn't play well with others,"

    “Neither do you and he’s on the team now, Tony,” you replied, more bravely than you actually felt. It had only been six months and you were still afraid they were going to kick you out. They only had a couple weeks more until they could legally get rid of you too.  You were turning 18 soon.  “Teammates get healed after missions, that’s the rules. Ignore him, Loki. He’s a bit of an ass.” You smiled up at the tall, slim, raven haired man. He seemed to be thawing out some at least.

    “It is a pleasure to meet you indeed, Lady...Y/N, was it not?” Loki asked, his voice and accent both like warm honey. You nodded and the healing was finished.

    “I thought you would like her, Brother,” Thor commented while you moved to check the rest of the team for injuries.

    “Her magic is-” Loki started. Thor cut him off.

    “Yes, brother. I am aware,” Thor answered quickly. “She does not know.” You ignored them for now, but filed their conversation away for further analysis later. The rest of the team was fine.

    “Kid, go up to bed,” Tony ordered once everyone had been looked over. You had a feeling they wanted to deal with Loki without the minor in the room.

    “I’m not a kid!” You protested. Again.

    “Y/N,” Cap said simply. You sighed, bid everyone a good evening and headed upstairs to your room. Tony you could get away with arguing with, but not Cap. Never Cap. And extra never Natasha.

    “Don’t forget you have training in the morning!” Nat called after you. You waved at her in acknowledgment. She was training you on how to fight and you couldn’t think of anyone better to learn from. As the elevator doors closed, you caught a last glimpse of Loki, who seemed to be unable to take his eyes off of you.


	2. Chapter 2

    You heard noises in the hall while you were laying on your bed in your room pretending to read a book much later that night. “This is a terrible idea Thor!” Tony yelled as you crept to your bedroom door to listen. “There are at least fifty bedrooms in this place and you decide the _war criminal_ should live across the hall from the kid?”

    “It is the best place,” Thor protested.

    “Tony, Thor does know Loki best. I’m sure he has a reason for his decision,” Cap said logically.

    “Fine, but if he hurts her, it’s on your head!” Tony stormed off, probably to go complain to Pepper.

    “Brother, try to be kind to Lady Y/N. She is a lot like you. I think you could both use a friend. She has been hurt too, for all she tries to hide it from the rest of us.” You rolled your eyes at that. Stupid overprotective Thor. He had decided he was your older brother too sometime during the last six months. Or maybe he had decided it the day he had rescued you.

    You went to the small bookshelf in your room and looked over the books you had collected there. Most of your life could still fit in one small suitcase. The habit wasn’t broken after only six months, and these books had been constant companions for years. You pulled the most ragged and well-worn of the collection and went back to your door to listen. The voices had gone. You still had to be careful, though and cracked the door open. There was no one in the hallway, so you padded across the hall and knocked on Loki’s bedroom door politely. You realized after you had knocked that you had decided to go greet a strange man in your pajamas and swore to yourself never to let Cap, or Tony, or really any of them find out. At least your pajamas were a Black Sabbath t-shirt that Tony was still trying to figure out where it had disappeared off to, and a pair of pajama pants stolen from Clint’s laundry, so it wasn’t like you were indecent. Most of your clothes were handmedowns anyway, so what if you had stolen more from your new housemates? Tony and more importantly Pepper hadn’t figured it out yet that your clothes were all handmedowns. They’d both have an aneurysm.

    “Go _away_ Thor!” Loki growled from inside.

    “I’m sorry. I should’ve known you didn’t want company tonight. I’ll just leave this here for you,” you called through the closed door. You set the book carefully on the ground in front of the door and headed back to your own room.

    The door opened behind you before you made it back to your room. Loki was standing there in pajama pants and a plain t-shirt. It didn’t look like his usual attire. The chains were gone at least, though he was wearing a piece of Stark tech on his wrist where one of the manacles had been. “Lady Y/N,” he greeted you, a little stiffly, a little wary.

    You gave him a bright smile. “Thor mentioned that you like to read.” Thor talked about Loki all the time. “I know these rooms are pretty bare, so I thought you might like some entertainment,” You’d been here six months and your room was still only slightly more decorated than the day you’d moved in. Nat and Pepper hadn’t seen it, or you had the feeling they would protest.

    “Why are you being kind to me? The others will barely even look at me,” Loki asked, still wary. He seemed so scared of rejection. You’d seen this bruised expression in the other foster kids before. You knew how to deal with it. You were too much of a healer and a gentle heart not to have learned how to soothe the others, even if your powers couldn’t help yourself. Your smile didn’t falter.

    “Thor says you’ve changed. I’ve seen no evidence to prove him wrong. Everyone deserves a second chance. And if half the stories he told me about you are remotely true, it is _way_ better to have you as an ally in mischief,” you grinned at him, the last piece of your little speech teasing. He offered a small smile in return. You went over to him and picked the book off of the floor to hand to him. “You do like to read, right?” you asked him, offering the book.

    He inclined his head. “I do.” He looked over the book quizzically.

    “I thought you might like this one. It’s the story of a young sorcerer. Sorry it’s a bit battered. I’ve had it forever and I’ve kinda lost count how many times I’ve read it,”

    “It must be an excellent tale indeed,” he commented, seeming genuinely interested now.

    You felt that you had worn your welcome annoying the newcomer. “I should get some sleep. As you’ve heard, I have an early day of hell with Nat in the morning. Goodnight, Loki,” you bid him with a wave and made your way back to your own room before he could get annoyed by your presence.

    “Goodnight, witchling.” You heard his reply, noting the odd pet name, but didn’t dare turn back around. It really wouldn’t do to annoy him. If Thor was to be believed, Loki was quite troublesome when he was annoyed or bored.

    *

    When your alarm went off the next morning, you dressed in the workout clothes you’d stolen from Nat’s closet. At least you were roughly the same size so the black sweatpants and sports bra fit you well. On a hunch, you grabbed the next book in the series you had lent Loki before you left your room to grab a quick breakfast before hell with Nat.

    It was early on a Sunday morning, everyone usually slept in. Besides Nat, anyway, since it seemed she never slept. Occasionally, Tony was up, but that was only until he growled something and went to bed, having stayed up all night working on something in his lab.

    Your hunch was right, you quickly realized, when you saw Loki sitting on your favorite couch in the livingroom. He was almost done with the first book. “How’s the book?” you asked him as you stepped off the elevator. You set the next book in the series on the end table beside him. He looked up and offered you a tentative smile.

    “It is a very interesting tale, though I do question the wisdom of filling a castle with children learning magic with so minimal supervision,”

    “And hiding the Philosopher’s Stone in said castle?” you laughed, making your way through the livingroom to the kitchen and seeing what you could scavenge for a quick breakfast. “If your idiot brother doesn’t stop eating all of my pop tarts...” you grumbled, throwing another empty box away. You could hear Loki laugh from the other room. “Jarvis, can you order more pop tarts for me?” You had come to like Jarvis. He was quite handy to have around.

    “Yes, Miss,” Jarvis’ voice answered. You glanced down at your phone, a crazy fancy piece of Stark tech, and realized you were running out of time. Granola bar it was. You downed the granola bar, threw away the wrapper, and headed back to the elevator.

    “Enjoy the book!” you called to Loki as you walked past. He looked up from his book and gave a real smile.

    “Thank you, witchling,” he replied. You were going to make him tell you later why he had decided to call you that. You didn't mind.  It didn't seem malicious. You were mostly just curious.  For now though, you were running late to meet Nat.


	3. Chapter 3

    Hell with Nat was...hell. She was the best one to train you how to fight in the entire tower, but she was also a hardass and training was tough. She finally called it quits after a few hours of hell. If it weren’t so important to your future ability to go on missions with the team, you probably would have protested that she was pushing too hard. She must’ve caught your look. “Bad guys always go for the healer first,” she reminded you.

    “I know, Agent Romanov,” you grumbled as you fought to move. She’d kicked your ass repeatedly today and you were already stiff and sore. You had to get to your shower soon or you wouldn’t be able to move.

    “You’re allowed to use my name, not my title,” she reminded you. Again. It was hard to relax around them. You’d spent your whole life hiding your powers in fear and tiptoeing around foster parents so you didn’t get kicked out.

    “Y/N, you don’t have to be afraid. I know you had it rough with the foster system, but you’re part of the team. We’re not ditching you. You’re allowed to relax. This is your home for as long as _you_ want it to be.” Cap’s voice said from the doorway. Cap was totally team mom and seemed to always show up when people needed a pep talk. You gave him a smile.

    “Thanks, Cap,” you managed, not quite sure about the emotions you were feeling. It was hard to get over years of hiding and tiptoeing and fear so quickly, but you promised you would try. “Thanks for the lesson, Age-Natasha,” she gave you a real smile at that and you could finally escape back up to your room and more importantly, your shower.

    One scalding hot shower later, you felt almost human again.

    You didn’t feel like being anti-social today and took the homework you still had to do down to the livingroom as well as the tablet you’d actually asked Tony for, since you actually needed the internet for school and couldn’t just ask Jarvis everything. You figured it was cheaper and easier than getting a full computer. You hadn’t expected a super fancy Stark tech gadget. You also didn’t complain, though your classmates gave you jealous looks when they saw your tech. You didn’t go advertising that you lived in the Avengers’ tower, but those kind of things always got out, somehow, especially after the Avengers had been tracking you down for healing for two years already.

    You weren’t surprised to see that Loki was still on the couch reading when you got back to the livingroom. “Hi, Loki,” you greeted him kindly as you took your usual spot on the couch, setting out your homework.

    “Lady Y/N,” he replied formally, looking up from his book. He was halfway through the second book already.  He could devour books.

    “How’s the hunt for the monster in the castle?” you asked, nodded to the book.

    “The new teacher is a moron,” he replied with a chuckle. You spent a long time ignoring your homework while discussing the characters and the story with Loki, which was way more enjoyable than calculus. 

    “Kid, we’re ordering Chinese. What do you want?” Tony asked from the kitchen awhile later. You looked up, surprised. You’d lost track of time while talking with Loki. You called out your order to him, which was promptly placed through Jarvis. It wasn’t long before the carryout was on the island in the kitchen and everyone was digging through the bag for their orders. “Hey, is that my shirt?” Tony commented, seeing the shirt you had stolen from the laundry. You shrugged.

    “I don’t know. It ended up in my laundry,” you lied innocently.

    “Did it appear with a Black Sabbath shirt by chance?” he asked. You shrugged again before grabbing your order, and the unclaimed container, which you assumed was Loki’s and darting from the room before Tony could press the issue. “And why do you only wear the same five outfits?” Tony grumbled. You pretended not to hear him and made your way back to Loki and the couch. He had returned to his book when you had left him and didn’t seem keen to go fight the others for dinner.

    “Tada!” You announced, handing him his Chinese food container. He looked shocked, flat out shocked and tongue tied. “It’s dinner. You eat it,” you rolled your eyes at him.

    “Why did you bring mine as well?” he asked as he reached up to take the container from you.

    “Fork or chopsticks?” you asked, offering him both. He took the fork. You returned to your spot to begin eating your dinner with the chopsticks he hadn’t chosen. He just looked at you, waiting for your answer to his question. He wasn’t as forgetful as the others. Or was just more persistent. “They aren’t nice when they’re hungry, but they won’t hit the healer. I figured you weren’t going to brawl with them to get your dinner, so I grabbed it while I was getting mine. It’s called being nice,” you replied. “The correct response is ‘thank you’,” you added with a touch of sarcasm and teasing in your voice.

    “Thank you,” he responded obediently, sounding amused. You finished your dinner and finally got started on the homework you’d been avoiding all afternoon.

    “Kid, we’re getting called out to an incident uptown. You and Reindeer Games are to stay here, and stay out of trouble,” Tony announced awhile later. You looked up from your homework and saw that he was already in his ironman suit. “Reindeer Games, keep the kid safe, that’s your first mission.” Loki inclined his head regally, accepting his order.

    “I’m _not_ a kid!” you protested. Again. Why was this concept so difficult for Tony to grasp?

     He ignored you and continued. “Y/N, keep an eye on Reindeer Games, make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, or cause trouble, or try to take the world over again. If he’s out of your sight longer than it takes to pee, tell Jarvis to call for help.” You just rolled your eyes at him, sure that Loki wasn’t going to do anything more interesting than sit on the couch reading. Tony grabbed your hand.

    “Hey!” you protested, trying to pull it back from him. He ignored you and in the suit you couldn’t fight him. He clamped a piece of tech on your wrist. It was a wrist repulsor. You recognized it from visiting his lab. It was only good for one shot.

    “If he tries anything, blast him first and ask questions later,” Tony ordered firmly. You rolled your eyes.

    “He’s not going to try anything,” you protested.

    “Promise me, Y/N,” Tony was actually concerned and seemed to care, so you threw him a bone. This time.

    “Fine, I promise,” you grumbled. That was the best he was going to get from you. The second they had left, you tried to find the clasp on the repulsor or figure out how to remove it. There seemed to be no clasp on it, no way to get it off until Tony got back. You huffed at it and went back to your homework. You shouldn’t have procrastinated on it all day in the first place.

    “What are you working on?” Loki asked.

    “Homework that I’ve been avoiding all weekend. Specifically calculus, which is a stupid subject,”

    “You are in school?”

    “Yeah. It’s my last year. I can’t officially join the team until I graduate. I’m only living here because Thor found out my last foster father was abusive and hit me,” you replied absently, flipping through pages of the textbook to try to figure out the answer to the problem you were stuck on.  

    “Explain,” Loki growled. You rolled your eyes.

    “I’ve been helping out the team for a couple years. I healed Clint on a mission one day and they found out about my powers and started coming to ask for healing. Thor came to me for healing one day and saw through the illusion I had placed over the bruise. He brought me here and I’ve lived here ever since. Still don’t know how he saw through my illusions. They’ve always fooled everyone else,” you grumbled, finally finding the missing piece you needed for the calculus problem.

    “Thor grew up with me,” Loki explained. You looked up at him, shocked by that answer. “He is quite used to dealing with illusions, as they are one of my specialties,”

    “That makes sense,”

    “What is a foster father?” Loki still didn’t sound like he had calmed. He hadn’t gotten off the fact that you’d been hit. Great, just what you needed, another overprotective person in your life.

    “Kids with no parents go into foster care. It’s hard to explain. The short version is that I was abandoned at a hospital when I was a baby and bounced from family to family my entire life,” you shrugged. “Most of them got scared when they realized I have powers and demanded I be placed somewhere else,”

    “You have always had magic?” he asked curiously, wisely not commenting more about the foster system. You nodded.

    “As long as I can remember, anyway. Mostly healing and illusions,” you still weren’t comfortable talking about your abilities. You had tried to hide them for so long, but something always made you use them again.

    “Will you show me an illusion?” he asked gently, as if knowing that you were afraid. At this rate you were never going to get your homework done. You sighed, but obliged, standing from the couch and leaving an illusion of yourself where you’d been sitting.

    “Very impressive,” he commented, as he appraised your work. You felt pride in that and let the illusion fade. You had a feeling praise from him was rare indeed. He seemed to have run out of questions for now and let you get back to your homework. It only lasted until he finished his book, though. He got up, clearly bored. “Where are you going?” you asked, more curious than anything.

    “To find another book,” he commented dryly. You sighed.

    “I’m supposed to come with you,” you reminded him. He rolled his eyes.

    “Surely you’re not going to blast me for getting a book,”

    Instead you reached into your bag and pulled out the book you were reading in English. “Either you can help me with my math homework or read Hamlet until I finish,” you told him dryly, holding the book out to him.

    “You are no fun,” he grumbled.

    “I don’t want detention for not doing my homework. Or another lecture from Cap. His lectures are really long and _really_ boring,” you whined. He laughed and relented, sitting on the couch again.

    “Let me see the problem,” he offered. You showed him the question, hoping he would explain better than Tony. Tony knew everything when it came to math and science, but he was awful at explaining any of it. “I can help,” he added once he had looked it over. You nearly hugged him.

    “Thank god. I was afraid I was going to ask Tony, and he’s _hopeless_ at helping,”

    The team came back to find you and Loki working on your homework together on the couch companionably chatting while you did.


	4. Chapter 4

    A month of fun and friendship with Loki passed. He was on house arrest until he proved his changed heart, or something silly like that. So he spent a lot of time keeping you company while everyone was out on missions and such. You were supposed to be babysitting each other. This was a terrible plan as you both came up with childish pranks to play on the others when you were bored.

    Thor was pleased with the development. The rest of the team was wary at best. Tony was downright hostile over your friendship, but it was a friendship, and Loki wasn’t doing anything harmful to anyone, so Cap and the others made him be nice.

    One evening, all of the team came back horribly injured. Clint was shot twice, which you proceeded to yell at him for, even after he’d taken his hearing aids out to avoid lectures. He looked impressed as you signed your anger at him.

    “There’s my Black Sabbath shirt!” Tony exclaimed when he saw your pajamas, which you had been wearing while watching a movie with Loki that evening.

    “This?” you asked innocently. “It just appeared in my laundry one day.” It was a tried and true excuse. Tony glared, but everyone laughed.

    “Make sure it reappears back in my laundry,” he finally growled. You laughed and agreed while healing the damage he’d somehow sustained even in the ironman suit.

    It took forever to heal everyone and cost a lot more power than you were willing to admit. Thor looked concerned when everyone was healed and making their way to devour all of the food in the kitchen. You didn’t want them to know how much that had drained you. You were still scared that they would ditch you if you weren’t useful enough to them. You waved off Thor’s concern and made your way, shakily admittedly, back to your spot on the couch.

    “Lady Y/N, are you sure you would not prefer to go to bed?” Thor asked, concerned. “I will gladly escort you,” he offered. He knew you were weaker than you wanted to admit.

    “Loki and I were watching a movie. I’d like to finish it,” you answered him with a smile. He somehow left you alone, maybe actually trusting Loki for once. You sat on your side of the couch wrapped in a throw blanket and pretended to pay attention to the movie while the others ate. It didn’t take long for the others to file off once the food was gone to go to their own pursuits.

    Loki picked up the remote and paused the movie once they had all left. “I understand that you wish to hide any sign of weakness from the others, but being tired after the amount of healing you just did is not weak. Allow me to escort you to bed, witchling,” he bid you softly once the two of you were alone again. You looked over at him confused.

    “I’m fine,” you protested, though exhaustion was in your bones and if you sat still for much longer you were going to fall asleep. Or pass out. It was hard to be sure.

    He just gave you a look and you looked away, unable to meet his gaze. You knew that stubborn look well, and knew he had somehow caught you in the fib. “Your magic is Asgardian, little witch. I know perfectly well exactly how much power you had to use to heal all of those ungrateful oafs, and exactly the result of overtaxing your abilities,”

    “Asgardian?” you asked, trying to distract him from being overly concerned and over protective.

    He nodded. “I should have told you sooner, I admit, though so should my idiot brother. One of your parents had to have been one of our kind for your magic to be so strong. I recognized your magic as Asgardian the first time I saw you use it.” The night we had met and I healed a cut on his face. I just stared, not really able to believe that I wasn’t entirely human.

    “You don’t know who-?” he shook his head.

    “I would tell you if I did,” he promised. I nodded.

    “Can we finish the movie first?” you asked. That was supposed to be the fun of the evening. He sighed.

    “Very well,” he relented and turned the movie back on. He didn’t say anything when you moved closer to him on the couch and pretended not to notice when you eventually cuddled up against him. He silently wrapped an arm around you while you laid your head on his chest. You told yourself that it was perfectly fine because you were friends and there was nothing romantic going on at all.

    You were a liar. A dirty rotten liar who couldn’t admit her feelings and you were too afraid of rejection to tell them to Loki even if you had admitted them to yourself.

    You vaguely heard an exasperated sigh a while later or at least thought you had heard it, but didn’t bother opening your eyes. Apparently your eyes had closed, they weren’t reopening either. Oops. “Stubborn little witchling. I _did_ warn you that you had overtaxed yourself,” Loki sighed in a tone that would have been described as loving exasperation had you been in a romantic relationship, which you very very firmly were not. You were a dirty rotten liar to yourself at times. You barely stirred as he rose from the couch, though made a small noise when he picked you up in his arms, cradling you to his cool chest, your head resting on his shoulder. “Shh, you’re safe,” he cooed, soothing you back to sleep, or was it unconsciousness? You couldn’t quite be sure. You were vaguely aware of him carrying you as if you weighed nothing, of being tucked into your own bed.

    And was that a kiss on your forehead?


	5. Chapter 5

You groaned when your alarm went off the next morning. You had school, but the second you opened your eyes, you knew that school was a terrible idea. Your entire body ached, your throat was sore, and you were a sniffling disgusting mess. Worse, you were shaking with chills, though you knew it was perfectly temperature controlled in here. It was like you had gotten the flu overnight. 

You fwumped back in your bed and wrapped yourself in a blanket cocoon. “Jarvis? Can you please ask Cap to call the school and tell them I’m sick?” you croaked. Your throat was so sore.

“Yes, Miss,” Jarvis replied. With that done, you closed your eyes to try to get back to sleep and hide from how bad you felt. 

You weren’t surprised when there was a knock on your door a minute later. “Y/N?” Cap called.

“Come in,” you managed to get the words out. You were not getting out of bed to answer the door.

Cap, the mother hen, came in and sat on the side of your bed. You looked up at him with fever glazed eyes. “I’d ask what’s wrong, but you’re clearly sick,” Cap commented gently. He placed a hand to your head. “You’re burning up. Have you taken anything yet?” he asked. You shook your head. He went to your bathroom and came back with cold meds and a glass of water. “Take these.” You took the meds without question. “Get some rest, feel better,” Cap bid you as he stood again. 

“Witchling?” Loki asked from your doorway, concern in his voice, which only seemed to increase when he saw Cap in your room. “You did not come down for breakfast. You are going to be late for school,”

“Loki, good, you’re here. Y/N is really sick. The rest of us have to go out. Can you keep an eye on her?” Loki looked downright shocked to hear someone say it was good that he was anywhere.

“Of course,” Loki replied, keeping the regal manner he still used on most of the others.

“Feel better, Y/N. Don’t worry about school. I’ve taken care of it,”

“Thanks, Cap,” you croaked. He nodded and left your room, leaving the door open. His propriety couldn’t face having you alone in the room with a male with the door closed.

The second Cap was gone, Loki rushed over to your bed. You managed to sit back up, though broke into a coughing fit when you did. He wrapped an arm around you while you coughed. “Witchling?” he asked softly.

“I’m ok,” you croaked.

“You are not ok,” he replied dryly.

“I’m just sick. I’m human, it happens,” you tried to reassure him. He didn’t look convinced. 

He placed a cold hand against your forehead. You nearly melted in relief. “You’re burning up,” he said softly.

“It’s a fever,” you murmured, still melted under the immense relief of having his cold hand against your forehead. “Comes with being sick.” You weren’t always sure what things about Midgard he actually didn’t know, so you ended up overexplaining things to him. He didn’t seem to mind, and seemed more glad that you would go out of your way to make sure he was included in the conversation and knew what was going on.

He gave you a small smile. “That, I can help with a least.” You looked up at him confused. He stripped off his shirt and settled himself against the pillows on your bed. Even through your fever hazed mind, you could appreciate the wonderful view.

“While the view is nice, I’m not sure how this is helpful,” you teased, had you been thinking clearly, you would probably not have told him you appreciated the view. He laughed and pulled you to him, letting you lay your head on his cool chest with his equally cool arms wrapped around you and his cold hand on your forehead. You purred and melted in relief. “How-?” you managed to ask.

He chuckled again. “My...” he hesitated, searching for the right words “biological parents were Jotuns, witchling, Frost Giants,” he added before you could ask. “I will tell you more about it later, rest now,” he bid you softly. You closed your eyes and wrapped your arms around his slim waist, cuddling up to him and holding him like your favorite stuffed animal. 

“Brother?” Came Thor’s voice from the doorway as you were fading back to sleep. “The Captain said you were most likely in here.” You didn’t look up when he came into the room, preferring to pretend to be asleep. “Brother...what is going on?” Thor sounded disapproving.

“Lady Y/N has taken ill,” Loki replied calmly, almost sounding put-upon. He didn’t need to pretend. Everyone knew you were friends. “Captain Rogers asked me to keep an eye on her. Her fever spiked,” he shrugged. “The cold seems to help,”

“You have feelings for her, Brother,” Thor said, sounding gentle for once toward his brother.

“She is a friend, Thor,” you could almost hear Loki rolling his eyes.

“Sure she is, Brother. You may want to consider admitting your feelings before some other man attempts to woo her,”

“Go away before you wake her, Thor. She finally went back to sleep,” Loki growled instead of dignifying Thor’s statement with an answer. Thor laughed, but left the room.

It was around noon when you woke again. You were still using Loki’s chest as a pillow, but you were feeling a lot better and your fever seemed to have gone down. Loki was reading a book that you knew he hadn’t brought into the room with him.

“I thought Stark’s tech made it so you couldn’t use your powers?” you asked him softly when you noticed the book.

“It limits my powers; it does not block them completely. Unless Stark is having a particularly bad day...” Loki grumbled that last part. “Are you feeling better?” he asked more gently. You nodded and sat up. He touched the back of his hand to your forehead. “Your fever is not as bad as it was at least,”

“Thank you for that,” you replied. You stretched and moved to get out of the bed.

“Witchling?” his voice was concerned at your attempt to get out of bed.

“I’m going to go see what there is to eat downstairs. Coming?” you asked, unsure what the Avengers hadn’t devoured already. 

He chuckled and got out of the bed, throwing his shirt back on as he did. “Witchling, stay here. I will fix us something to eat,” Loki offered. You just looked at him.

“You know how to cook?” you asked him incredulously. That didn’t seem like a skill the prince of Asgard would have.

He laughed. “Tell no one,” he replied, earning himself a laugh in reply. 

“Your secret is safe with me,” you replied and curled yourself back under your blankets and turned on the TV, soon dozing to the sounds of daytime television while he went to the kitchen. You looked up when he came back into the room and handed you a plate of something that looked similar to Japanese curry and smelled delicious. “Thank you!” you told him brightly. He looked shocked by your joy and praise at something as simple as a home cooked meal. “This is wonderful,” you added while you ate. “I’m going to have to figure out how to convince you to cook more,” you teased. He laughed.

“As long as it does not involve you getting sick again,” he replied. “Or telling the others,”

“That’s going to be difficult,” you mused. “I’ll come up with something.” He chuckled and vanished the dishes from the room once you were both done eating. 

He wisely handed you an old battered leather book before you could get bored of being in bed. “These are Asgardian children’s tales. I placed an illusion so they will appear in English for you,”

“Thank you!” you took the book gleefully and he smiled at your child-like enthusiasm for new tales. You spent the rest of the afternoon reading together on your bed, and looking up to wave at each of the Avengers as they passed by your room to check on you when they returned to the tower.

“Witchling, why didn’t you tell me your fever was back?” Loki demanded later that afternoon, when he thought to check your head again.

“You were reading,” you mumbled. You hadn’t wanted to disturb him, or take advantage of his skill, and besides the fever and the cough that wouldn’t go away, you were feeling better. 

He sighed and placed his cold hand on your forehead again. “Stubborn little witch,” he commented, letting you cuddle up with him to steal his cold.

“Didn’t want to take advantage,” you murmured. He sighed in exasperation again, but his only answer was to pick up the book of Asgardian tales you had been reading and begin reading them to you.

“Kid, are you feeling better enough to come down to dinner?” Tony demanded from the doorway a long while later. You cracked your eyes open as he stormed into the room. “What the hell do you think you’re doing in here, Reindeer Games?” Tony roared. You had a feeling he would have dragged Loki from the bed had you not been using Loki as a pillow at that particular moment.

“I believe I am using my powers to cool Lady Y/N’s fever,” Loki replied dryly. You opened your eyes and sat up, willing to face down Tony over this. Loki didn’t need attacked for being nice.

“Kid?” he asked, looking for your answer as to what was going on.

“Tony, he’s a perfect gentleman and his powers got rid of my fever, which I heard was really bad this morning,” Tony looked chastened a little at that. He must’ve heard how sick you were from Cap. “All he’s done is save me from a facing a lot more illness and took care of me all day even though he didn’t have to. Don’t yell at him for being nice,” you grumbled. Loki wisely got out of your bed and you followed. “What’s for dinner?” you asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Natasha’s making some weird Russain concoction,” Tony answered. “Do you own any clothes that you haven’t stolen from the rest of us?” he asked, eyeing the shirt that originally had lived in Clint’s closet.

“I’ve lived here for seven months and you’re just now figuring out all of my clothes are handmendowns?” Your secret was up anyway, so you might as well admit it, plus it would keep Tony’s attention off of Loki if he was busy being pissed with you. You gestured at Loki behind your back where Tony couldn’t see to escape while Tony was busy yelling at you. Tony glared.

“Why didn’t you say something?” he shouted. You could tell he felt bad for not noticing. He took in your room and looked even worse when he realized how undecorated it was. 

“Do you know how hard it was to even ask for a tablet for school, something I actually needed?” you demanded right back. 

“That was free homegrown tech I made downstairs, and the phone is standard issue, so don’t even think about feeling guilty for that!” he growled.

“I wasn’t going to make a nuisance of myself and have you guys turn me out too. I’ve been through too many foster homes already for that. I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask for things I don’t need. I’m not here to try to steal your money,” you replied.

“Of course you aren’t, kid. No one ever thought you were,” he finally seemed to be calming, when he took in your side of the story. “But we’re fixing this. You’re part of the team of misfits we’ve collected here, and we take care of our own. Don’t argue. This is your home. None of us should have neglected that you didn’t feel like it was. That changes first thing tomorrow. Now come on, dinner,” he gestured you from the room. He still didn’t like to be touched most of the time and you respected that. Loki was waiting for the two of you outside of your room. You tried to give him a reassuring smile, but you could tell he had overheard the entire argument. “I’m still watching you, Reindeer Games,” Tony glared at Loki.

“Tony...” you grumbled. “Can we please go get dinner? I’m starving,” the whims of the sick healer won out and the three of you went down to find the group around the diningroom table already. You, Loki, and Tony took the three empty seats and served yourself whatever stew-like creation Natasha had made. It was delicious and fun hanging out with the group. It was kinda rare to have everyone all in one place, except during missions.


	6. Chapter 6

It was late when you finally went back to bed. You should have gone earlier, but you’d spent literally all day in bed, and convinced Loki to go to the library with you instead of heading straight back to bed. You told him he didn’t actually have to come with you, but he reminded you that Cap had given him the job of keeping an eye on you while you were sick. You rolled your eyes at his lame excuse, but searched the library with him until you found something that sounded interesting.

“Now, will you return to bed, witchling? I would hate to see your fever spike again,” he was legitimately worried.

“I’m fine, Loki,” you promised him. He gave you a look, you knew that disbelieving look. It was used quite a lot around here. 

“You have had a fever all day and could barely move this morning,” 

“I may be human, but I do get over being sick quickly,” you explained. He didn’t look entirely convinced, but didn’t argue. “But I should get to bed soon. I do have school tomorrow. Tony’s still trying to convince me to go to college, despite that it’s too late to get in through normal methods,” you whined as the two of you walked back to your floor.

“What is college and why does he want you to go there?”

“It’s more schooling. You need the additional schooling to get a decent job. I think he wants to make sure I’m not reliant on Shield to always have a job. He said he could get me in to the local university, so I don’t even have to move out of the tower... but that’s at least four more years of school, and I don’t even know what I’d major in, what I would study,” you added before he could ask about what a major was.

“It sounds like a good opportunity to have options for your future,” Loki commented nonchalantly. You sighed. 

“You’re right. That’s what I’ve been thinking too. I’d never really thought about going to college, there was no way I’d be able to afford it, or hope to get a full-ride somewhere. I shouldn’t take the handout from Tony, though...” 

“Why not? He is the one making the offer. Even I have known him long enough to know that he would not make the offer if he didn’t mean it, or did not want you to take it,”

“You’re mighty persuasive,” you teased him on the elevator ride back to your floor. He just laughed. “Yes, I know you’re known for having a silver tongue. Fine, I’ll talk to Tony and see what I need to do,”

“I am sure you will succeed in whatever you decide to study,” he grinned at you. You just rolled your eyes and the silly Trickster. “If you would like, I can teach you more Asgardian magic,” he suggested, sounding almost hesitant, as if he were afraid of rejection.

“Really?” you asked, bouncing in excitement. “I’d love to learn more magic!” He chuckled.

“Yes, really. You obviously have the talent for it, but not tonight, witchling, stubborn as you are, even you require sleep, especially as you have been ill all day.” He checked your forehead for signs of a fever yet again when you had reached the door to your room. “You really do recover quickly from being ill. A normal human would have been down for days with that cold,” he commented.

“Good thing I’m not normal,” you replied with a smile. He just laughed. 

“Goodnight, witchling,” he bid you.

“Night, Loki,” you replied. 

You turned and opened your bedroom door. “Y/N!” Loki yelled as your room exploded. All you could do was stare in shock. Loki grabbed you around the waist before you had even registered the explosion. He swung you away from the door, turning both of you so he was shielding you with his body from the explosion. He rushed you both to the other side of the hall. “Y/N, are you ok?” he asked. You looked up at him, still shocked. “Are you injured?” he asked. You shook your head. He sighed in relief. “Don’t move,” he told you firmly. You just nodded still in disbelieving shock as you stared at the rubble that had once been your room. Loki carefully opened his room’s door. There was no explosion. You heard running footsteps and shouts from the others as they ran to find out what had happened. You took one step toward your room, then another, not quite believing until you saw the room closer. Loki grabbed your arm and pulled you into a hug. “I told you not to move. It’s dangerous,” he growled, starting to steer you to his room.

“Shit! Y/N!” Tony yelled as he and the others finally arrived on the scene. 

“Are we under attack?” Loki demanded, still holding you safely in his embrace.

Tony shook his head. “I’m so sorry. It was an accident, I swear. Y/N, are you ok?” He demanded again, since you still hadn’t answered. “Kid, c’mon answer me. Were you in there?” You shook your head.

“No. We were just coming back from the library,” you managed to explain, still staring at the smoldering ruin of your room and the life you had managed to build. 

“The room exploded when she opened the door,” Loki added. “I think she is in shock.”

“Stark, how is this your fault?” Cap asked. None of them had missed that he had apologized and said it was an accident.

“Dum-e was supposed to help me clear out the furniture in you room tomorrow when we got your new stuff. He decided blowing up everything in the room at midnight was the same thing,” Tony explained, speaking to you directly, even though you still weren’t thinking clearly.

Your idiotic brain focused on one stupid thing and you tried to fight your way out of Loki’s grip. “Y/N, what is it?” he asked, not hurting you, but not letting you go, wisely understanding that you would run straight into that burning room to rescue something. 

“My books! I have to rescue them!” you insisted.

“I’ll buy you new books, kid,” Tony replied, gently for him. 

“No, you don’t understand!” you told him with tears in your eyes. Loki did, though. Loki knew that those old ragged written in books were the only possessions you had that were actually yours, besides the necklace you always wore that you never showed to everyone, including Loki yet. Everything else you had was handmedowns, borrowed things, or articles of clothing stolen from the other Avengers. Those had been your only constants through your life of jumping foster families.

Loki snapped his fingers in front of your face, drawing your attention back to him. “I have your books,” he said gently. “Remember? I borrowed them again. I wanted to reread them. They are safe in my room.” You finally relaxed, relieved when you remembered that he had asked to borrow them again. 

“I’m sorry,” you told your worried teammates. 

“It’s ok, kid. I think everyone here was shocked by their first explosion.” Tony was actually gentle for once. One of his first explosions had led to the shrapnel in his chest that the arc reactor was saving him from. Everyone agreed that shock, and you reaction, were a perfectly natural response to having one’s entire life blow up by one of Tony’s lab projects gone wrong. Tony was going to be in a lot of trouble from the whole team for upsetting you and making this mess. “I’ve already got contractors coming up to fix this tomorrow,” Jarvis had somehow gotten the fire was under control.

“Your Black Sabbath shirt was in there,” you gestured toward you room. Everyone laughed. Tony had been trying to get that shirt back for months.

“Yes, I don’t think any of us are getting our stolen clothes back. You’ll have to make a list of what you stole so I can buy replacements for everyone,”

“Don’t forget to include a bunch of extra stuff for us on the list,” Clint ordered you, earning him a small laugh. 

“Make me a list,” you told him with a small smile. Tony owed all of you for this incident.

“Are you ok taking a couch in the livingroom tonight?” Tony asked. While there were fifty bedrooms in this place, only the ones that were occupied were actually inhabitable. 

“Take my bed,” Loki told you gently before you had to agree to sleep in the livingroom. All of the men growled. “I will stay with Thor tonight,” he continued before they all killed him. 

“Are you sure?” you asked him softly. 

“Yes, witchling. Thor will not mind, right, Brother?” he asked, looking pointedly at Thor, who agreed quickly. Loki usually didn’t call Thor ‘brother’, except it seemed when he was trying to convince Thor to agree with him. 

“Of course not. Excellent idea, Brother,”

“Tony, you’d better make this up to Y/N tomorrow,” Cap ordered. It was weird to see Cap actually upset. 

“I know. It was an accident!” Tony protested. The two of them would argue for awhile longer yet.

“Tony, do you have a extra phone lying around?” you asked a bit shyly. You really hated asking for things. “Mine was in there.” You needed to have a phone. It was vital, plus your alarm for school in the morning.

“Yeah, Bruce is down in the lab. The extras are there. He’ll give you one,” Tony replied absently before he got back to his argument with Cap over the incident that caused your room to explode. 

“You can go on up to bed,” you told Loki. Thor’s room was a couple floors up from yours.

“I will escort you,” Loki replied firmly. You didn’t argue with him, but walked down to the lab quickly to get one of the extra phones.

Bruce was in the lab, looking concerned and nearly panicky, also a little green around the edges. “Hey Bruce. Tony said you’d give me one of the extra phones,” you greeted him. He nodded and went to grab one from one of the supply cabinets. 

“Jarvis, set this up to Y/N’s specs,” he ordered as he turned the phone on. “Any word on what’s going on upstairs? Is it a Code Green?” 

“It’s not a Code Green. Tony accidentally blew up my room and all my stuff, ergo the new phone,”

“The phone is complete,” Jarvis announced.

“Thanks, Jarvis!” You took the phone and a new charger from Bruce. “Tony and Cap are still arguing upstairs. I’d skip my floor if I were you,”

“I’ll take that under advisement. You are ok, right?” he asked. You nodded.

“I wasn’t in the room when it blew up,”

He hesitated and you saw how hard it was, but he added “If you need somewhere to stay, you can take my room. I can crash in the lab tonight. I’m working late down here anyway,”

“Thanks for the offer, but Loki’s giving up his room and bunking with Thor.” He nodded and you and Loki left him so he could get back to his work. Loki walked you back up to his room. Tony and Cap were still arguing outside with Thor as referee. Clint had apparently decided to go to bed. Or watch from the ceiling tiles with popcorn. It could go either way with him. 

Loki stepped into his room first, checking for threats before he would let you follow. It was an odd quirk of both his and Thor’s. You didn’t argue with either of them over it. It wasn’t worth the waste of breath. 

    “Shit, my homework was in there too,” you groaned, when you finally remembered. “Jarvis? Can you have Tony write a note to my teachers telling them that he blew up my homework?” you asked. You thought you heard amusement in Jarvis’ tone when he replied that he would. 

You’d been in Loki’s room before, barging in to bother your friend when he was being too anti-social, or sullen, or sulky. It always seemed so safe in here. You finally found out why when he told you “The room is shielded, witchling. I will teach you how to do it at a later date. Threats would be hard pressed indeed to get through my protections. You will be safe here,”

“That’s why you insisted I take your room tonight?” you asked him. 

“That and I knew you would be uncomfortable sleeping in the open in the livingroom. Thor and I have shared a bed before. It is no big deal.” You gave him a disbelieving look at that. “Alright, he snores, loudly, and is annoying, but we are brothers. It was the best solution.” You couldn’t help going to his nightstand and picking up the first book of the series he had rescued. You opened the cover carefully to make sure it really was yours. You sighed in relief when it was. You were the one who had written these notes in this book over the years. “Will tell me what those notes are, witchling? I admit I am curious.” He was curious, but wouldn’t pry.

You gave him a smile. “It’s the list of all the foster families I’ve lived with and how long I lived there,” you explained and showed him the list again. “I think there’s a couple missing from the beginning, but this is most of them.” At the very bottom of the list was ‘The Avengers’ and the date you had moved in to the tower.

“That is why you were so concerned over the books,” he surmised. You nodded.

“Everything else wasn’t really mine. Just these.” You laid the book carefully back with its friends. 

“I am glad they are safe,” he told you kindly. He went to his dresser and got himself a pair of pajamas out and some clothes for the next day. “Feel free to steal something less...burned to wear,” he gestured to the dresser. You looked down at your pajamas and realized they had gotten burned sometime during the evening’s activities. You weren’t sure how, or how your clothes had been injured but not you. “Are you sure you are alright?” he asked again.

“I’m fine. I was just scared. Thanks for letting me stay here,” 

“You are welcome, witchling. Now get some rest. You have a big day of getting back at Tony tomorrow,”

“That I do,” you replied with a mischievous grin. Tony definitely owed you for this. “Goodnight, Loki,” you bid him as you walked him to the door.

“Goodnight, witchling,” he replied fondly and left to go break up the argument and get some sleep himself.


	7. Chapter 7

    It wasn’t hard to find something to wear that night, after you’d washed the smell of smoke and fire off of your skin and our of your hair. How you’d come to smell like smoke you didn’t know, but it was nice to get rid of the acrid scent. Clint’s shirt and your pajama pants had gone straight down the trash chute. They were too scorched to be saved. You were also very much _not_ thinking about how you would now smell like Loki from using his shampoo and soap. He’d given you permission to borrow something of his to wear for the night and picked a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt from his dresser. They fit well enough, but you had to roll the bottoms of the pants a few times. Loki was quite a bit taller than you.

    You cursed when you realized you were going to have to steal clothes from Natasha for tomorrow. She was the hardest to steal from. She guarded her stuff well and would kick your ass if she caught you in her room without permission. That’s why no one had suggested you bunk in her room, even though she was out on some overnight mission for Fury. Unfortunately, she was the only one whose pants would fit you well enough to wear out of the tower.

    You threw that thought from your mind for the moment, knowing you needed to get some sleep. It was strange to sleep in a strange bed, but the room was the safest you’d ever been in, and there was something comforting about being surrounded in pillows and blankets that smelled like Loki. But you were obviously not having feelings for him. That would be ridiculous.

    You got up early the next morning, intending to see if Natasha had left any clean laundry in the laundry room that you could more easily steal. The second you opened Loki’s door, you found a wrapped box. You picked it up and brought it inside Loki’s room with you, curious as to what it could be, especially since it had your name on the tag. You unwrapped the box, then grabbed one of the many daggers Loki left lying around his room to open the box. You laughed aloud when you saw that inside was an entire outfit, including undergarments and gym shoes, all in your size. As you pulled everything out of the box, wondering who could have possibly sent it to you, a note fluttered out. You grabbed the note and read it over.

     _Tony said he destroyed all your clothes. I picked these up for you on my way back from my mission last night. Couldn’t have you breaking into my room this morning to steal something of mine while I’m trying to sleep_

     _-Nat_

     _P.S. Your boyfriend should like the shirt_

    You didn’t question how Natasha knew your sizes for everything. She knew everything about everyone. You pulled the t-shirt from the stack of clothes to look at it properly. It was a green t-shirt. You unfolded it and laughed. In the middle of the front of the shirt was an image of Loki’s helmet. Loki would like the shirt, or at least be amused by it. You got dressed quickly, amazed that not only did everything fit, but it fit better than anything you’d ever owned. Natasha had gotten your actual sizes, and not the baggy handmedown sizes that you usually wore. It actually warmed your heart that she had done so.

    Dressed, and with your new phone, you headed down to breakfast. You weren’t surprised at all to see Loki there. He usually was. “Morning Loki,” you greeted him.

    “Good morning, witchling,” he replied, pleasantly from his spot at the diningroom table. “Clint left breakfast for you,” he indicated the stack of pancakes that was sitting at your usual place at the table. “He said the team’s list of purchases for Tony is there too. Lady Natasha left this for you,” he added, indicating a backpack that was next to your seat.

    “That was nice of everyone,” you commented as you took your place at the table. Loki finally looked at you properly.

    “Where did you steal those clothes from?” he asked with a grin.

    “I didn’t. Natasha got them for me so I wouldn’t steal her clothes. She said you’d like the shirt,” you grinned back at him. Really she’d said ‘your boyfriend’, but you knew she was teasing you about your friendship with Loki.

    “She was correct,” Loki commented. He turned red and looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t know how, or wasn’t brave enough to. So you turned your attention to your pancakes.

    “Did Thor snore too loudly?” you asked, changing the subject for him.

    “He snores _so_ loudly,” Loki grumbled. “He’s also a lot bigger now than the last time we’d shared a bed. He hogs the bed and the blankets,” he whined.

    “I’m sorry. You can have your bed back tonight. I’ll sleep somewhere else, even if Tony hasn’t fixed my room yet,” you told him, feeling bad that he hadn’t slept because he’d been displaced, because of you.

    “Nonsense. If Tony does not finish your room, you will stay in my shielded room,”

    “Loki...” you started. He just gave you a look. You sighed. It would be a waste of breath to try to argue with him, so you’d jump off that bridge later and hope that Tony got your room finished before it became an issue.

    “Fine,” you grumbled at him, letting him win this round because you knew fighting him would be a waste of breath.

    Tony walked into the room while you were finishing your pancakes. “Kid, Happy is going to drive you to school. We’ll pick you up to go shopping afterwards. Clint said he left a list for you?” You grabbed the list from the table and handed it to Tony.

    “I don’t need a ride to school,” you told him. He gave you that same stubborn look. Why did they all have that same stubborn look?

    “Happy is driving you,” he replied.

    “Fine,” you sighed. This wasn’t shaping out to be a good day if all of your teammates were going to tell you what to do all day. It wasn’t _your_ fault that Tony blew up your room

    “Why does your shirt have his ugly hat on it?” Tony demanded, gesturing at Loki.

    You shrugged in reply, fighting off a grin. “Ask Natasha, she picked it out,” you replied innocently. “Um...Tony...what do I need to do to be considered by the university?” you asked him shyly. You needn’t have been so shy or worried about asking him. His eyes lit up in excitement.

    “I’ll make a couple of calls,” he replied.

    “Thank you.” It still felt like you were taking a handout, but it was his suggestion, and Loki was right, having options for your future was definitely a good idea. You checked the time on your phone. “I’ve got to get going,” you told them, bouncing up from your seat and taking your plate to the kitchen. You grabbed the backpack Natasha had left for you on your way to the main entrance. “See you guys later!” you called, waving to them both.

    Happy drove you silently to school and you spent a long fairly boring day there. Your teachers forgave your lack of homework. Apparently Tony had come through in getting you off the hook for the homework he blew up. All of your teachers gave you full credit for it and thankfully you didn’t have to make up any of the work from being sick yesterday either. That was at least a bright point to your day. The other good things was that it was Friday and you didn’t have to think about school for two whole days.

    You weren’t prepared for the whirlwind that was shopping with Tony, Pepper, and Natasha. They all had so much energy, not that you didn’t, but they also had crazy good fashion sense, and insisted that you were getting nice things. All of the stores also recognized all of them, and catered to Tony’s every whim. So you somehow picked out an entire bedroom suite, new carpet, decorations, and paint for the walls, plus an entire wardrobe of clothes, everything from jeans and t-shirts to dresses and ball gowns. You had tried to protest on the dresses and gowns, but were overruled quickly by everyone who insisted you needed nice things too. Jewelry was picked out and you were dragged into the salon to have your hair professionally done for the first time you could ever remember.

    Before you left the salon, Nat and Pepper shoved you into the salon’s single person bathroom with one of the dresses they had picked out for you earlier that day. “Guys!” you shouted at them through the bathroom door.

    “Trust us!” Nat called through the door.

    “Will you tell me what’s going on?” you demanded.

    “Maybe after you change,” Pepper replied. You huffed at them, but changed into the dress. They weren’t going to let you out of the bathroom until you had. Why was _everyone_ telling you what to do today?

    “I need some shoes!” you called through the door once you had the knee length green dress on. The door cracked open wide enough for a pair of dressy sandals to be handed in to you. You slipped them on, bagged up your comfortable clothes and shoes. You opened the door again once you were dressed. Natasha and Pepper both complimented how you looked and shoved you back in the salon chair and let someone do your makeup. “Seriously, are you two going to tell me what’s going on?” you demanded once that horror was finished.

    “Nope!” Natasha replied pleasantly. You glared at her. Pepper laughed and you wondered briefly where Tony had disappeared off to. Happy was nearby, obviously guarding Pepper. She was the CEO of Stark Industries after all, and had no powers of her own, besides the incredible ability to corral Tony.

    “You’re staying out of the tower while the sweaty workmen finish your room,” Pepper finally told you as you all left the salon. Natasha was carrying the bag with your comfy clothes in it. A car was pulling up, and parked in one of the spots in front of the salon. “There’s your company for the evening. Right on time. This whole thing was set up by Tony, by the way. Unless it goes well, then we'll admit that we helped,” she laughed.

    You had no idea what she was talking about until Loki stepped out of the driver’s seat of the car that had pulled up wearing a perfectly tailored single breasted all black suit, including black dress shirt, and black tie. You were struck dumb by how handsome he looked.


	8. Chapter 8

“Ladies,” Loki greeted the three of you with a small elegant bow. You were staring at him, unable to take your eyes off of him. Men in suits were extremely attractive and an attractive man in a well-fitting suit... 

You noticed that he seemed equally unable to take his eyes off of you.

“Right on time, Loki,” Nat replied with a mischievous smile. “Take care of our girl tonight and make sure she has a good time,”

“You two have fun!” Pepper chimed in. You felt your face heat, knowing that they both saw how neither you or Loki seemed able to take your eyes off the other.

“Do you require a ride home?” Loki pried his eyes off of me to address Nat and Pepper.

“No. Happy’s driving us back,” Pepper replied. They said their goodbyes and started walking to the car that Happy would be driving.

“Lady Y/N,” Loki greeted you formally, returning his full attention to you now that the others were leaving. He bowed over your hand and kissed your knuckles. You felt your cheeks heat even more at his romantic gesture. Though you knew from experience that Thor did the same thing to all of the girls just as a simple courtesy. “You look ravishing this evening, witchling,” he added, confirming your suspicion that this wasn’t just simple courtesy like it would have been with Thor. This was...more.

“You look great tonight too,” you added shyly. You were out of your depth here, and needed to get back to the lighthearted familiarity you usually had with him. “Did they tell you any more about what’s going on than they bothered to tell me?” you asked, trying to get back to the lighthearted friendliness that you were used to.

“It is as Lady Pepper said. Your room is still being worked on. Stark wishes for you to remain out of the tower until it is completed. So he made arrangements for your entertainment for the evening and asked if I would accompany you,”

“That was very kind of you to agree,” you commented, knowing full well that he would’ve been excited just to leave the tower. He’d been on house arrest for over a month. “How’d you get stuck with this awful assignment?” you teased.

“I made the mistake of becoming your closest friend,” he quipped right back and instantly you felt back on familiar terms with him. “Shall we?” he asked, offering you an arm. You placed your hand on his arm, almost timidly and let him walk you to the passenger side of the car.

“When did you learn how to drive? Or get a license?” you asked curiously when he opened your car door for you.

“A few weeks ago, Captain Rogers though it would be a good idea for me to know how,” he answered when he got in the driver’s seat. “Lady Natasha made my ID and an entire identity to go along with it. She said that she is a professional in such things.” You just laughed. He pulled out of the spot and followed Jarvis’ directions to your next destination. At least he was a careful driver.

“Natasha is a professional. If she made your ID it’ll hold up under any scrutiny,” you reassured him. “So what ‘arrangements’ did Tony come up with?” you asked curiously.

“You will find out,” he replied with a grin. You sighed. Everyone was ordering you around and not telling you anything today. It was quite annoying. You’d have to figure out how to get back at them all later.

“Have you seen how my room is coming along?”

He nodded. “There are many sweaty workmen making quite a lot of noise and upsetting everyone while they build things,” he answered.

“That’s not reassuring,” you replied glumly, hoping that the workmen really would finish today. You didn’t want to have to find somewhere else to sleep. “How’d you get off of house arrest?” you asked instead of commenting more on the workmen.

“I believe Stark let me out of the tower today only as a favor to you.” Loki’s voice was hesitant, he hadn’t really wanted to answer that question.

“Best enjoy your freedom then,” you smiled at him. “Anything you want to do while you’re out on the town?” 

“This is your evening, witchling,” he reminded you with exasperation in his tone. 

“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it too...though I still have no idea what Tony picked for us to do...” you added too innocently. 

“Well, we have arrived at our first destination for the evening, so you will find out,” he replied with a grin, pulling into a parking spot at a restaurant you’d never been to. It looked really fancy, though. Before you could think about opening your own car door, Loki was out of the car and halfway to your side of the car. He opened the door and offered you a hand to help you out. You didn’t need the help, but you took his cold hand anyway. He led you with your hand on his arm into the restaurant.

It was as super fancy as you had thought. It was owned by a super famous celebrity chef too. Tony didn’t skimp on your ‘entertainment’ it seemed. You shouldn’t have expected that he would. You did feel way too uncivilized to be here. This place was fancy and you were just a high school student who wore baggy ill fitting clothes 99% of the time.

“Stand tall, love. There’s no need to feel intimidated at this place. This is supposed to be fun remember?” Loki said kindly. Part of your brain did ask where the word ‘love’ had come from, but it was quickly squashed by the part that was focusing on looking like you belonged here. “Besides, you are here with a prince,” Loki added with a chuckle. That got a laugh out of you and you could finally relax. As he spoke to the hostess about the reservations, you wondered briefly who had prepped him on how Midgardian restaurants worked. It was impressive that he managed so flawlessly.

The two of you were led a table that was actually in the kitchen. Your eyes lit up in excitement at being able to watch these professional chefs cook. Loki pulled out your chair for you and you wondered briefly if this was courtesy on Asgard too, or if he knew the gesture was a romantic on on Midgard. You didn’t question it right that moment, though. It would be difficult to find out the answer anyway. 

You found out that Tony had placed your orders as well as making the reservations, so you could just enjoy talking with Loki and watching the chefs cook. These were some of the best chefs in the city to have gotten positions here and it showed in their work. The food was beyond delicious and the very best thing you could ever remember eating. 

You and Loki spent the entire dinner discussing books you’d both read including the Asgardian fairy tales he’d lent you and the basics of Asgardian magic. You both behaved and didn’t actually do any magic in public, but it was still interesting to discuss the fundamentals. 

You favorite part of dinner was watching Loki’s expression when the chef brought dessert to the table. You had learned that desserts of almost any variety were one of Loki’s weaknesses and the chocolate monstrosity in front of you definitely counted. He looked at it with child-like glee and you couldn’t help admiring how adorable he looked.

“So where’s our next stop?” you asked him when the dessert was nearly gone. He had said that this was only the first stop of the evening. He smiled. 

“It is a surprise, witchling,” he answered. Again. You sighed, but let him get away with his fun. It was his night out too.

Before you left the restaurant, you finally decided that you had to say something. It wasn’t fair to Loki if you didn’t. “I’ll help you kick Tony’s ass later for this if you’d like,” you started. You weren’t sure that was the right way to go about this conversation, but keeping it light and fun seemed like a good idea.

“Why would I wish to do that?” Loki asked, with just a hint of mischief in his eyes. He knew something that he wasn’t telling you. “He has provided us with a pleasant evening,”

“I’m not sure how much you know about Midgardian courting rituals, but he’s seemed to set this up like a date, like a courtship. Probably to make fun of you, or both of us, later,” you finally explained, just spelling it out for him. It wouldn’t do for him to get made fun of because Tony being mean. 

Loki laughed and pulled out his phone to text someone quickly. He sent the text and put his phone away. “Natasha and I both told Tony that you would figure it out,”

“Figure what out?” you demanded incredulously.

“Apparently the group has gotten tired of waiting for us to initiate a ‘proper’ courtship on our own, so they have been planning this evening on our behalf. Tony now owes me twenty dollars for betting that you would not figure out that this is a...date.” He tested the word, as it was unfamiliar to him. “Your room being destroyed was an actual accident, of course,” he added quickly before I could get even more upset with Tony.

“You don’t have to put up with their matchmaking...” you told him softly, afraid that since this was a setup, he might not actually be here because he wanted to be. 

He gave you a soft smile. “My darling witchling, I would love nothing more than to court you, and would have attempted it sooner, had I thought you would be receptive to my advances,” his words were kind, but hesitant, just as scared of rejection as you were.

“But you’re...over 1000 years old and I’m 17, why would you possibly be interested in me?” you asked, finally voicing your fear. He laughed.

“Age does not matter where I come from. We live so long that as long as the people involved are old enough to make their own decisions, unless there is a 5000 year or more age difference...” he shrugged. “As to why I would be interested? You are an intelligent beautiful women who had been my first and best friend in a long as I can remember, why would I not be interesting in pursuing more than just friendship?” You couldn’t help smiling giddily at that. “However, if that is not something that you are interested in, I would gladly step back and we can keep our friendship,”

“Gladly, huh? That’s unlikely,” you teased, needing to lighten the mood again. He chuckled and inclined his head, accepting your correction.

“The point remains that I would,” he added, but had lightheartedness and laughter in his voice again.

“Good thing you won’t have to,” you smiled at him, feeling your cheeks redden again for finally admitting that you had feelings.

“With that settled, we should head to the next part of tonight’s adventure.” He stood and offered you a hand to help you to your feet.

“Um...don’t we have to pay?” 

“Tony already took care of it,” Loki replied with a smile. You took his hand and let him walk you back to the car, and open your car door for you. Being treated like a princess all night was a lot of fun, though you hadn’t thought you would ever experience it. Loki drove to your next destination. “We do have a bit of a walk to get there,” he said as he pulled into a parking garage downtown that seemed to recognize Tony’s car and just let you in.

“That’s fine,” you replied, curious where you could be going. The evening was cool, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable. The walk was only a couple blocks. As you were walking, you bravely reached out and snagged Loki’s hand in yours. He looked at you with a mix of surprise and delight and you walked with him hand-in-hand.

You gasped in delight when you got to the building. It was the theater in town that played Broadway musicals. “Really?!” you asked him in excited joy. He chuckled.

“Yes, witchling, really,”

“I thought all the tickets were sold out!” You exclaimed as he held the door to the theater open for you. 

“They are,” he replied casually. “Tony got the tickets months ago. They were supposed to be your birthday present, but they are an apology present now. He knew how much you wanted to see this show,”

“How?” You hadn’t said anything to anyone, and were very careful to only sing the songs from the show in the shower. You’d also only made Loki watch the Wizard of Oz once...

“Jarvis,”

“Oh.” You had asked Jarvis to play the soundtrack about ten thousand times. Of course Jarvis would tell Tony. He’d probably also mentioned that he was bored in your taste of music and wished you would listen to something else.

Loki pulled the tickets out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket to give to the usher who led you to one of the private boxes. The view was fantastic. It was hard to be patient for the show to start and Loki kept fighting not to laugh at your glee just from being here. Before the show had started, he slipped off his suit jacket and placed it over your shoulders. “It is cold in here,” he commented. You smiled and slipped the jacket on.

“Thank you.” His jacket was too big, of course, but it was warm and he was right, it was cold in here. The cold didn’t bother him, though. Perks of being a frost giant.

The second the show started you were entranced and filled with so much joy at finally being able to see it live. You had to fight not to sing every song and were sitting on the edge of your seat the entire time. You were one of the first to rise for the standing ovation at the end.

“That was fantastic!” you told Loki again as he drove you home after the show. It was nearly midnight. You babbled about the show the entire drive home.

“So I take it you enjoyed your evening out?” he laughed when you were in the elevator back up to the main floor of the tower, the one where the rest of the Avengers were waiting for the two of you to get home. They hadn’t expressly said they were waiting up for you, but they were and they obviously expected you to stop by the livingroom before heading up to bed. 

You got off the elevator, still holding Loki’s hand. There were knowing looks from your gathered teammates. You flushed and dropped his hand, earning laughter from your friends. “Nat, you can accept credit for helping,” you told her. She said they would accept credit if the evening went well. If not, they were pinning it all on Tony. You thanked Tony for the wonderful evening and actually gave him a quick hug. He stiffened, but you let go of him quickly enough not to offend. 

You only had to socialize for a couple minutes, just long enough to reassure everyone that you were home safely before you could disappear upstairs to see your new room. Loki decided that he was going to escort you. Everyone wisely remained silent at that. 

“If I am remembering my Midgardian courting customs correctly, after the evening’s activities, generally dinner and a show, the gentleman escorts his lady back to her dwelling and kisses her goodnight,” Loki commented innocently when you reached the door to your room. 

“That is the custom,” you replied, just as innocently, earning you a laugh. 

You looked up at him, nervously as he closed the distance between you. He was a lot taller than you and had to lean down to be able to kiss you. You stood up on your toes to meet him halfway, your hands on his shoulders for support. He wrapped an arm around your waist, helping you to keep your balance and gently pushed your hair back from your face. His kiss was gentle, his lips cool reminding you of a crisp winter’s day as they pressed softly against yours. 

It was your very first kiss and it was absolutely perfect.


	9. Chapter 9

    After the fantastic kiss, you finally opened your room’s door to see what Tony and the others had done to it. Your first thought upon entering the room was that it was beautiful. The second was that there was no bed. That seemed like a horrible oversight. You stepped into the room, noting the plush carpet under your feet. The room had a nice desk, a couch, a TV and every other inch of wall space was packed with crammed bookshelves. On the wall opposite from your bathroom, you realized there was a new door that hadn’t been there this morning. You opened it to find a separate bedroom. Tony had made you a suite instead of just a room. You stared in awe and nearly in tears that he had been so nice to make you something so fancy and awesome.

    “Witchling, it looks like Tony left you a note,” Loki said from your livingroom. He had followed you in to see what the workmen had accomplished. You made your way back in there and he handed you the note.

     _Kid,_

     _Yes, I made you a suite. Most of the rest of us have other homes besides just our rooms here. This is your home, so it should feel like it. No need for sentiment. Enjoy the books. Yes, the laptop is yours. Don’t argue._

     _-Stark_

    In a different hand at the bottom of the note was:

     _Ignore him, he’s a moron. I hope you love your suite. If anything isn’t perfect, let me know. Welcome home_

     _-Pepper_

    You smiled and put the note carefully on your desk where it wouldn’t get lost. You looked around your suite again and finally, finally felt like you were at home.

    *

    The very next morning, Loki started teaching you as much magic as you could devour. He commented more than once that you were a natural and caught on way faster than he had ever thought possible.

    A few days later the group held a small birthday party for you in the tower’s main livingroom. It was filled with cake and laughter, and somehow Thor got Loki to wear a party hat. Cap mentioned that the party was small because it was ‘just family’. He couldn’t have said anything better to make you feel loved and welcomed. Your presents were strange, but all perfect, truly cementing your life here: an official SHIELD uniform, your first paycheck (as well as the bank account that it had gone into, which you were pretty sure had more money in it than it should have), a passport, an entire second identity courtesy of Natasha, and a college acceptance package from Tony were among the highlights.

    Loki got you a delicate silver bracelet, which somehow went absolutely perfectly with the necklace you never took off and no one had ever seen. Somehow, the chain of the necklace always seemed to be the exact length for the pendant to be hidden under whatever you were wearing. You wondered how Loki had picked out something so beautiful that matched it so perfectly. “Thank you, Loki! It’s gorgeous!” you exclaimed. He chuckled and clasped it on your wrist for you.

    “I am glad you like it,” he replied. You leaned up to kiss him, which made him blush in front of all of these witnesses. Loki liked kisses. A lot. But he was still shy and reserved around the others, though neither he nor any of the others were outright hostile anymore. His reservation extended to being uncomfortable kissing you in front of the others. You usually respected his reticence and saved most of your kisses for when there was privacy, but you had to thank him properly for the wonderful present.

    “Get a room!” Clint called. You threw a wad of wrapping paper at him while poor Loki turned even more red and looked like he just wanted to hide.

    “Oh, like you haven’t _all_ been in the livingroom kissing someone before,” you grumbled at them. “And Tony, don’t even get me started-”

    “Leave me out of this!” he protested. “I didn’t say anything!

    “And you’re not going to either,” you replied. He didn’t want you telling the group that you’d walked in on him completely naked in the livingroom.

    “It is unwise to upset Lady Y/N, especially on her birthday,” Thor boomed, coming to everyone’s rescue. Loki still looked like he was going to run away, so you did the only logical thing you could to make sure he stayed. You stood, swung him around in a little dance for a few steps, making him laugh at your antics. The second he had relaxed, you pushed him onto the spot on the couch that had previously been yours and curled yourself catlike in his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck. He started to protest, but you just indicated Pepper who had her feet in Tony’s lap while she was checking her phone, and Nat who had somehow taken over half of Clint’s seat while he was in it.

    “I couldn’t have you running away from my birthday party,” you whispered in his ear. He sighed and huffed and looked put-upon, but he didn’t complain, and you could tell he secretly enjoyed having you in his lap. He laughed in delight when you put your ice-cold toes on Thor’s stomach when he stretched and his shirt rode up. Thor made the most excellent shriek of surprise.

    “Loki! I thought I taught you when we were children to as least _tell me_ before you put your icy toes on me!” he shouted before he looked to see whose toes were on him. The whole room laughed. Thor finally looked and saw who the toes were attached to. He swallowed back more cursing at Loki.  Loki was just smiling, the perfect image of innocence. He was usually no such thing, but this was your bit of mischief and he enjoyed second-hand mischief just as much as mischief of his own.

    “But Thor! You’re so warm!” you protested with an innocent smile.

    “Warning would be nice next time, Lady Y/N,” Thor finally said. His manners said that he couldn’t curse at you.

    “Duly noted,” you replied with a mischievous grin. You had no intention of warning him next time. Or any time after that. His reaction had been too good.

    It was the first birthday you could remember being filled with so much fun, laughter, and actual family.


	10. Chapter 10

    A few weeks later you shot awake from a nightmare in the middle of the night. You reached automatically for your magic to create a ball of light above your bed. You’d gotten into the habit after Loki had taught you the spell. The balls of light were always the perfect brightness, unlike the lights of your room. You realized when you reached for the power that your magic was gone. Just attempting to use it made the dull ache you’d had in your abdomen explode into very full, very real pain. You cursed creatively. You had miscounted the days, or more likely just completely forgotten in all of the fun, dates, and magic lessons over the last few weeks.

    Now you were in the tower without your powers surrounded by people who were not only way more physically strong than you, but most of them also had super powers as well. Logically, you knew that no one on the team would ever hurt you. Unfortunately, logic and terror were not friends and could not peacefully coexist. Even more unfortunately, it was terror that was currently hanging out in your mind.

    So you bolted out of bed to find safety and comfort. Safety and comfort happened to exist across the hall. You cracked open Loki’s unlocked bedroom door. Seriously, no one ever locked their doors in this tower. The logical part of your brain did question why you thought safety was with Loki when you were terrified of everyone else in the tower who had powers, but that was a problem for a different day. “Loki? Are you awake?” you asked softly as you opened the door just widely enough that you could slip inside his room. Even you could hear the fear in your voice. His shielding recognized you by now and let you in without an even token resistance. You felt ever so slightly better once you were within the shields.

    “Which answer will frighten you less, witchling?” his voice was soft and he hadn’t moved from his position under the covers on his bed. He was willing to pretend to be asleep if that’s what it took to ease your fears.

    “Awake,” you answered, stepping further into the room and closing the door quietly behind you. Loki sat up slowly and the lights in the room came on at the same time. He stood from the bed and came over to you, calmly, gently, obviously attempting not to frighten you further. You ran to him and wrapped your arms around him, somehow trusting that he would keep you safe. “Can I stay here tonight?” you asked him in a small scared voice.

    “Of course, darling,” he soothed, holding you gently to him and petting your hair. “I will keep you safe,” he added the promise.

    “How-?” you looked up at him. He seemed to already know what was wrong.

    “Your magic is Asgardian, little witch,” he reminded you, gently teasing. His voice was light and soft, comforting. “It is only natural you would have the same limitations as the rest of the Asgardian ladies. I am perfectly aware of what ails you.” Somehow while he was talking he had managed to lead you to the bed and had you tucked in before you even realized what he was doing, much less before you could protest. “You are safe here, with or without me with you-”

    “Stay please,” you begged before he could continue his thought, more terrified to be alone. He chuckled and joined you in the bed.

    “As my lady wishes,” he replied. You should have been embarrassed to share his bed, but that was just one too many emotions for this night. Plus this wasn’t sexy, this was comfort from fear.

    “Do you have any-?” before you could finish the question, a giant slice of chocolate cake appeared on a plate in your hands and a hot cup of tea appeared on the nightstand on your side of the bed. “You’re awfully prepared,” you commented seconds before digging into the cake. It was an overly chocolaty creation that you would have to demand the recipe for later. It was perfect for your current state.

    “I _was_ expecting this,” he reminded you dryly. “My mother, as well as most of the court ladies are the same way the days that are without their powers. Lady Sif does not have that problem, however, and just punches everyone she can find until she feels better. We do not encourage the other ladies to follow her example.” His story earned him a small laugh. “They are generally less terrified, since they _plan_ a safe companion for those days,”

    “They trusted the Trickster God with their safety?” you asked, surprised.

    He rolled his eyes. “Of course. I’m not a monster. Fun, chaos, and mischief do not inherently make me dangerous. I was one of the ‘safe’ males because I am a prince. Though most only came by just long enough to request a cup of healing tea, while pretending that I did not know why they were asking for it. It was common knowledge that my tea was better than the healers.” You could hear the pride in his voice at that. “Yes, that is the same tea,” he chuckled, answering your question before you could ask it. “Cake first, then tea,” he said firmly before you could ditch the cake for the healing tea which was heavily implied to make you feel better. You obeyed, though, sure there was a reason for his order. Whatever the reason was, it wasn’t important when finding out opposed delicious cake. “Darling, how have you managed since you have lived here? I assume it wasn’t so bad until you lived among such strong housemates.”

    You nodded your agreement with that last statement. “It was a lot less terrifying among the humans, even though I _know_ no one here would ever hurt me,” you admitted. You hated the fear you felt among your teammates.

    “It is the vulnerability. It is perfectly normal to feel afraid and defensive,” he commented, his voice reassuring and calm. You had finished your cake and moved on to the hot, soothing cup of tea.

    You nodded again and continued your explanation. You knew he wouldn’t stop pestering you for it until he’d gotten an answer. “I spent the first month terrified, but pretending everything was ok. After that I took to not sleeping for those days except for naps while everyone was out of the tower. I didn’t leave my room except for school, told everyone that I was a werewolf and would bite them if they tried to bother me, and that I couldn’t heal them on days I transformed into a wolf,”

    Loki laughed. “They believed that?” he asked incredulously.

    You shook your head. “Not one bit, but they didn’t try to bother me for healing and respected that they wouldn’t see me for three days. I think Nat and your brother know what’s going on, though. Thor always comes by. Often. And brings food with him as a peace offering for checking on me,”

    “Of course he does. He knows perfectly well, since he also recognized your magic as Asgardian,” Loki replied. “And Lady Natasha knows everything. I did not notice you disappearing for days since I have been here,” he commented too innocently. He was asking why you hadn’t come to him for comfort and safety before.

    “Well when you first got here, Tony had insisted on interrogating you for days about New York,” you reminded him. He nodded. “He picked those days for the interrogation...” you hadn’t wondered at the time why Tony had picked those days, but you were curious now how he’d known. Jarvis was probably keeping the dates for him.

    “Of course he did,” Loki rolled his eyes.

    “And last month I shadowed Nat for three days straight. She told you it was ‘round the clock weapons training.” Nat hadn’t said a word about you wanting to share her bed or follow her around for days. You figured she knew exactly the reason why, but she hadn’t complained or questioned it.

    “Thank you for trusting me,” Loki said softly. You were feeling too warm, too heavy. You just looked at the tea, wondering why it had become so heavy and why your eyelids were drooping. The terror you had woken with should have kept you up the rest of the night. Loki took the cup from you before you could drop it and spill tea all over the bed.

    “You put something in the tea?” you asked him, voice fuzzy and sounding so far away, looking over at him with disbelieving confusion. You hadn’t asked him what was in the tea. You should have.

    “Nothing harmful. Never, darling. It was just a healing tea, something to help you feel better, relax, and get some sleep. That is all,” he told you firmly. At least he seemed to know it was fear talking and not distrust of him. “Rest, witchling. You’re safe now,” he bid you gently, somehow convincing you to lie back on the pillows as he pulled the blankets up around you.


	11. Chapter 11

    “Loki, have you seen Lady Y/N ? She is without her powers, but I cannot find her. She is not in her suite or with Lady Natasha...” Thor’s booming voice started breaking through the effects of Loki’s tea. He really was loud. He was extra loud because he was worried. You could hear it in his tone.

    “Yes. I have seen her,” Loki said dryly, not bothering to try to move from where he sat on the bed. You were currently cuddled up against him, your arms wrapped tightly around him and you were using him as a pillow. You made a small noise and shifted slightly. Thor must have finally taken in the scene and realized you were there.

    “You are taking responsibility for her safety?” Thor asked. His tone indicated that he would take over the duty for Loki if Loki didn’t want the responsibility.

    Loki scoffed. “She is my _kærasta_ , of course I am taking care of her. Now get out of here before she wakes and you scare her, oaf,”

    “Very well,” Thor chuckled. “Be wary, she can be a handful,”

    “All Asgardian ladies are,” Loki’s voice held a smirk. Thor left the room, still chuckling.

    “Hope she does not decide to take after Lady Sif,”

    “I hope for that with every fiber of my being,” Loki said softly as the door to his room closed. He stroked your hair gently. “Are you awake yet, witchling?” he asked softly.

    “Almost,” you murmured. He chuckled.

    “No rush. Sorry that Thor is so loud and annoying.” You chuckled at that and finally got your eyes to open.

    “What the hell is in that tea?” you asked, still groggy as you worked to sit up. Loki laughed and helped you.

    “I may have mixed it a little strong last night,” he admitted sheepishly. “I was afraid you would never calm. You were scared out of your wits, witchling,” he said softly, holding you in his arms.

    “Sorry to have worried you,” you mumbled, starting to feel uncomfortable now that you were awake. “Thank you for letting me stay last night,” you added. You couldn’t remember if you had thanked him already or not.

    “Witchling, I am glad you chose my company and overjoyed that you came to me for safety and comfort. You don’t have to be afraid,” he reminded me. “You’re safe here, and you’re safe with me.” You nodded and curled more comfortably in his arms. He let you stay there for a little while before he spoke again. “We should eat something, darling. You have a choice, either I can go get us something-”

    “No!” you protested, holding him tighter. He chuckled.

    “Or you can come with me and we can go get food together-”

    “No!” you protested again, curling up tighter in a scared ball. This was the safe room.

    He sighed, the sound filled with loving exasperation. “Darling, I know you are not feeling well and scared, but do try to keep up. You must eat something more substantial than chocolate cake. There are two choices: either I can go get you something or you can come with me. You are perfectly safe either way,” he added that last part when you didn’t let go of him.

    “I don’t want to be alone,” you finally told him softly. He kissed the top of your head.

    “Then come downstairs with me,” he bid you gently. “They are not going to hurt you, and I am sure your family would appreciate knowing the real story of what is going on,”

    You hesitated, fighting against the fear that you knew was illogical. You finally nodded. “Ok,” you managed to get the word out. Loki somehow extricated himself from your grip and got out of the bed. You followed him, but went to his closet to dig for something to go over your pajamas.

    “What are you looking for?” he asked as you rummaged through his clothes.

    “Your robe,” you commented, still shoving clothes aside in his closet. He went to his bathroom, grabbed the robe from the back of the door and handed it to you. You wrapped it around yourself, feeling better with another layer of clothes. Fear wasn’t logical sometimes. You had been perfectly decently dressed before the robe, a t-shirt style pajama top and long pajama pants. It just felt safer somehow to be wrapped in Loki’s too big robe, surrounded by the safety of something that smelled like him. A dagger the length of your forearm appeared in a sheath in his hand.

    “Kindly do not stab me with this,” he bid you as he handed it to you. There was no logical reason for you to go around your own home armed, but you strapped the sheath on under Loki’s robe and felt better, safer to be armed. “You do have some of the same instincts as Lady Sif,” he commented mournfully.

    “I won’t stab you,” you promised him. You were feeling a bit better, a bit safer, but still wrapped your arms around one of his, holding him too tightly before you’d agree to leave the room. He made no comment on your behavior. You thought he might’ve just been glad you hadn’t stabbed him.

    The entire group looked shocked to see you when you got off the elevator downstairs. You hid behind Loki, only peering out from behind him at the others. “So, Kid, is Reindeer Games going to turn into a werewolf next month too?” Tony joked from where he was sitting on one of the couches with Pepper.

    “He’s immune,” you quipped, but quietly, shy and more afraid than you wanted to admit.

    “Be nice,” Pepper scolded Tony.

    Loki herded you onto a couch, somehow managing to settle you under a throw blanket next to Thor. He kissed your forehead. “I will fix you something to eat. Stay. Visit your family. Thor will keep you perfectly safe, or he will have to face my wrath,”

    “He is mean when he is angry and creative in his retaliation,” Thor whined, earning him a giggle from you. Loki gave you a real smile that you were able to relax enough to laugh. He left to go cook something.

    “Weren’t expecting to see you again for a few days,” Clint pressed the issue.

    You looked away from him, speaking directly to your lap, fiddling with the blanket out of nerves. “I think it’s safe to say that none of you believe I’m a werewolf,” you commented innocently, earning some laughs and some ‘duh’s.

    “So are you going to tell us what the actual story is?” Tony demanded. He was quickly pelted by pillows and other small, harmless objects for interrupting and pressing you for answers

    “Thor and Nat already know,” you hedged, but took a breath and pressed on. “My magic is Asgardian. Apparently all the Asgardian women lose their powers a few days every month,” you weren’t clarifying _that_ point any further. If the guys couldn’t figure it out that was their fault.

    Loki came back then with two bowls of some creation that had eggs, cheese, sausage, potatoes, and sausage gravy. He handed one to you and settled himself next to you. You cuddled up next to him while you ate the breakfast he had made, which was delicious.

    “So her behavior is normal?” Cap asked Thor and Loki a little skeptically. A whole race of defensive scared females was unlikely.

    “Fairly, especially considering that she did not know about this until last night. Most of the ladies will simply choose a companion whom they feel safe around while they are feeling vulnerable,” Loki actually volunteered the answer, which was strange for him. He was usually reserved around the group.

    “Which is why you did better last month,” Nat added kindly. You had stuck to her like a shadow for days last month. You nodded, but focused most of your attention on breakfast, and not on your family discussing your weird behavior.

    The conversation changed quickly and you enjoyed the comfortable morning surrounded by family, even if you kept reaching for Loki’s dagger every time someone moved too quickly. “Brother, why did you arm Lady Y/N?” Thor asked when you had reached for the dagger one too many times.

    “I wanted my lady to feel safe,” Loki replied innocently.

    “So you needed to give her a dagger that might as well be a sword?” Tony growled. He had caught sight of the dagger too.

    “I should have given her a bigger one?” Loki asked even more innocently. With a flash of green magic an even larger dagger appeared on his hand.

    “NO!” the group shouted at him. You just laughed.

    “Can’t you two _try_ to behave?” Clint grumbled, looking like he was getting over a heart attack. It was probably fear of being stabbed by that wicked looking dagger that Loki held. Loki vanished the dagger.

    “But behaving is no fun and _so_ boring,” he whined. Thor whirled on Loki then. Loki being bored was a bad thing. He apparently did stupid things for attention when he was bored.

    “Brother! The Man of Iron has introduced me to a new entertainment! You should try it with me!” Thor boomed excitedly. He was obviously waiting for the next time Loki mentioned being bored to pull out whatever new thing he had learned about.

    “What is it this time?” Loki asked, sounding bored by Thor’s enthusiasm, as well as doubtful that it would actually be entertaining.

    “It is called Mario Kart!” Thor boomed. “Tony, get us the Mario Kart!” Tony rolled his eyes, but he and Clint got up to get the controllers to pass out to everyone and Jarvis set up the TV.

    “Bruce, are you playing this time?” Nat asked a little worriedly. You weren’t sure why. Mario Kart was fun. You explained the controls to Loki while Clint finished passing out the controllers. Even Bruce decided to play, for a little bit anyway.

    Jarvis got the game set up so you could all play at the same time. Loki learned quickly that there are no friends in Mario Kart. He learned especially quickly when you had hit him with shells twice. He growled at the screen and leaned forward in intense concentration, determined to win. Nat calmly killed Tony with a blue shell which made him start yelling at her across the room.

    Everything was going well until rainbow road.

    “I. Hate. Rainbow. Road.” Bruce growled in a dangerous tone.

    “Dr. Banner?” Cap asked worriedly. Bruce was looking green around the edges. His eyes had even changed to that bright almost neon green color.

    “Jarvis,” Tony snapped at the computer. The game paused.

    Before anyone could stop you, you made the stupid decision of getting off of the nice safe couch and going to Bruce with the calm gentle expression you had perfected just for him. Loki jumped up off the couch and grabbed you around the waist, pulling you to him and forcibly away from Bruce. He grumbled about healers with no sense of self-preservation, who go to heal people even when they have no healing magic to do so, even when they are terrified of everyone in the room due to said lack of magic. Thor jumped up too, standing between Bruce and the two of you. “Get her out of here,” Thor ordered Loki.

    “No. It’s ok,” Bruce said, fighting back for control, but he was winning. “The Big Guy likes her and isn’t stupid enough to hurt the healer,”

    “I think that’s enough Mario Kart. Even Loki can’t be bored now,” Clint commented and quickly gathered up all of the controllers again. Tony got Bruce out of the room claiming to need help with something in the lab. It was a feeble excuse, but Bruce took it anyway.

    “Witchling, you are too brave for your own good sometimes,” Loki scolded gently as you resettled on the couch.

    “I don’t feel very brave,” you replied cuddling up with him to watch whatever movie Nat was picking.

    “You just tried to take on the Hulk with no magic,” he replied grumpily. You could hear the hint of fear in his voice, though he was trying to hide it. He still didn’t like the Hulk after he’d gotten repeatedly smashed into the floor during the whole New York incident. He had been legitimately scared for your safety.

    “He was hurting,” you protested. It was hard to be afraid for yourself when one of your family needed help.

    “Healers,” Loki sighed, exasperated. “No sense of self preservation when someone else is hurting,” he grumbled again. “Can you _try_ to avoid sabotaging my job of keeping you safe?”

    Thor just laughed and laughed and couldn’t stop for a good five minutes. “Now you know how it feels trying to keep _you_ out of trouble, brother,” he roared in laughter while Loki grumbled that even _he_ wasn’t that bad. He at least had self preservation if nothing else.

    You laughed with them, accepting the comfort of being around family.


	12. Chapter 12

    The team had to go on a mission that night. Some team of enhanced was causing trouble in Queens. You were in no shape to go with them. You knew it, but it still left you grumpy that you couldn’t help.

    “Reindeer Games, stay here with the kid,” Tony ordered before they left. Loki gave his usual regal head incline. He was still usually reticent around the others, and he was more on edge today with your magic being out of commission.

    “Don’t you need his help?” you asked. You didn’t really want to be alone, but if this situation was as bad at they were saying, they could use his help.

    “We’re not leaving a defenseless team member alone,” Cap replied as he adjusted a couple straps on his uniform. You and Nat both protested that you weren’t helpless just because you were without your powers. Nat had been teaching you to fight. “We’re fighting enhanced,” Cap reminded you both. “Nat, you know damn well that you’re a super soldier with years of rigorous training. Loki stays. We’ll be fine without him.”

    “You two try to stay out of trouble,” Clint added with a grin as they all left.

    You curled up on the couch to watch the footage on the news. You couldn’t help. Watching what the others were going through was the best you could do. You had a feeling this fight would be bad. It was a terrible fight and it hurt you to watch your family in danger when there was nothing you could do to help them, and nothing you could do about it.

    You found out exactly how bad it had been a few hours later when the team returned. Most of them had injuries, but they could wait. Even though Clint had been shot he’d be ok for a couple of days until you could heal him.

    “I miss your powers already,” Clint teased while Nat helped him to the medical wing.

    “Sorry, Clint,” you murmured. You felt really bad that you couldn’t help. “You can suffer for a couple of days. Then maybe you’ll remember to _not_ get shot on missions,” you added, trying to tease and lighten the mood. He laughed while Nat helped him from the room. That mission worked out alright at least.

    He wasn’t the worst, thought. The worst was the teenager in a homemade red and blue costume who was being carried in Cap’s arms, dripping blood onto the floor from multiple bullet wounds. Loki tried to stop you from running to them, but you slipped out of his reach before he could. “Y/N,” Loki’s tone was a warning for you not to try anything stupid.

    You walked beside Cap as he carried the teen to one of the medical rooms and laid him on the bed. “Y/N, I hate to ask. I know you said you don’t have your powers, but this kid took bullets to keep the rest of us alive. I don’t think he’s going to make it without more intervention than we can give him. Is there any way-?” You had tears in your eyes when you shook your head. You reached for your magic anyway, but it just wasn’t there.

    Loki sighed heavily. “You are sure he will die within the next two days?” he demanded of Cap.

    Cap nodded soberly. “I wouldn’t give him two hours even with Stark’s best medics,”

    “Witchling, get ready. This will take both of us.” You nodded and stripped off Loki’s robe, setting it carefully aside. You didn’t want to get blood all over the clothes you had borrowed from him.  You got to work stripping the teen of his costume’s shirt, briefly noting the spider painted on the front of the red hoodie. You would need to be able to see the wounds to heal them properly. Thankfully, you only had to remove his shirt. You left his mask on too, though moved it up so his mouth and nose were clear and you were sure he could breathe. If he was paranoid enough to wear a mask while he fought crime or whatever his gig was, you weren’t going to display his secret to the room.

    “There is a way,” Loki finally told the room, having made some difficult decision. You could see it in his eyes. He shoved up his sleeves. The movement seemed leftover from preparations to do complex magic on Asgard where the clothing styles were different. He seemed to want his hands free. “but there is a cost, and it is not a small one,”

    “Loki,” Thor’s voice was a warning.

    “This is not a trick, Brother. There is a cost to all magic,” Loki explained quickly. There wasn’t a lot of time. “Healing is not one of my gifts. Yes, I can manage a scrape, a bruise, a small cut, but nothing like this, and nothing like what Lady Y/N can accomplish. However, since my magic is also Asgardian, I can supply the power for the spells.” He stepped over to Tony and held his wrist out. “For this to work, I will need every drop of my magic.”

    Stark started to protest, but Cap stopped him. “Do it. We all owe this kid. He’s running out of time and if there’s a way to save him...”

    “We can’t trust him!” Tony yelled in reply.

    “Then trust me,” you said softly. All the eyes in the room turned to you. “Trust me to hold the leash, trust me to be his control if you won’t trust him.” You spoke firmly, but calmly. You would and did trust Loki with every fiber of your being. He would never do anything that would hurt you and you knew he would do exactly what he was offering and save this kid.

     _Fetterer_. The word came unbidden to your mind. It didn’t have any place here, so you shoved it away, intending to analyze why it was bothering you when you had time.

    “Lady Y/N is right. She has been a good influence on my brother. You can trust her, if you refuse to trust him,” Thor jumped to your aid. Tony finally relented and removed his tech from Loki’s wrist.

    Loki rushed back over to you. “This is going to hurt both of us. Are you sure- of course you’re sure,” he sighed when he saw your expression. “I will feed you the magic, just heal him like usual,” he explained as he took your hand. The green glow of his magic flared around your joined hands. You took a breath, steadying yourself before you reached for you power to heal the spider-kid. You placed a hand on his too-thin chest, focusing on the power you needed. Your magic was gone, but Loki’s was there. It was uncomfortable and so very draining to convert his raw power into healing magic you could use. You somehow both managed and the magic around your hand glowed the typical blue of your power.

    You tried to use Loki’s magic sparingly, not wanting to drain him any more than necessary. “Stop trying to be polite,” Loki told you. “Now is not the time false restraint,” he hesitated a single moment, then added: “Take what you need.” The words were ritual, sacrifice, surrender. You felt him throw open his barriers, throw open all of his shielding, giving you every ounce of power, every fiber of his being without restraint. It was the ultimate act of trust.

    How you knew all of this you didn’t know, but you knew it was true.

    You also didn’t have time to worry about it. You tapped Loki’s power, though it was draining at an alarming rate as you slammed healing power into the kid in front of you. He had been fading fast and it took a lot to bring him back from the brink of death. It took _way_ too much power to do the healing this way. No wonder Loki had been hesitant to suggest this. At least the pain he had mentioned was missing.

    It seemed to take forever to heal the teen, but finally, finally the wounds closed. The blood he had lost was replenished. His mind tied back to his body, strengthened so he wouldn’t fade away. He had been too close to the land of the dead. When you were sure he would be ok, you lifted your hand from his chest. An instant later you dropped Loki’s hand, breaking the link between your magics.

    *

    The next thing you knew, you were in Cap’s arms and he was getting off of the elevator on the floor your suite was on. “Cap?” you asked softly, your voice weak. You felt drained and didn’t even bother trying to move. You had never felt this weary in your life.

    “You gave us a scare,” Cap said gently. “You and Loki both. Thor has him, he’s fine.” Cap added quickly. You heard Loki yelling and cursing at Thor to put him down from behind you. You looked behind Cap to see that Thor was carrying Loki over his shoulder.

    “I am fine! Put me down oaf!” Loki growled. “Where is Y/N?!” he demanded.

    “She’s here, and fine,” Cap called back to Loki. Loki wouldn’t stop yelling at Thor.

    “Ignore my brother. He has poor manners when he is tired and drained of power,” Thor apologized on Loki’s behalf, making you giggle. That worked better to get Loki to hush.

    Cap turned his attention back to you. “The second you stopped working on Spiderman, that’s what the guy you healed calls himself, you and Loki both dropped like stones, with no warning. Spiderman’s ok. He’s sore as hell, but the wounds are closed. He’s going to be staying here for a couple of days to make _sure_ he’s healed before we let him go home. He won’t be allowed up here, but have care when you’re downstairs. He helped us out in this fight, but we don’t really know anything about him. Think you can walk?” Cap asked when he got to your suite’s door.

    “I’m ok,” you said instead. He set you gently on your feet, but looked worried. Thor stepped up and wrapped his free arm around your waist.

    “I will stay with the children,” Thor teased both you and Loki, causing you both to grumble at him that you weren’t children. “Return to the man of spiders,”

    Cap nodded. “Call if you need anything. Good work today you two. None of us are going to forget this.” He left, still having work to do revolving around the spider-kid. You opened your suite’s door. Thor brushed past you to check the room before you entered. You had forgotten that particular idiosyncrasy of the Asgardians. You stepped into the room after him, just wanting to get to your bed.

    “Thor. Put. Me. Down!” Loki snarled again. He was so drained of power he couldn’t even summon a dagger to stab Thor with.

    “I would not like to pick you back up again when you fall on your face,” Thor commented. “Lady Y/N, go to bed before you pass out again. I will get Loki settled on the couch,”

    “I’m not going to condemn him to a couch, not after everything he’s done, especially in the last 24 hours,”

    “I am in the room and can hear you talking about me,” Loki grumbled from where he was still thrown over Thor’s shoulder. You and Thor both ignored him.

    “He can share my bed or you two can find your own beds,”

    Thor just gave you a look. “I am not leaving you undefended,” he protested.“If you are sure, then Loki can share your bed and I will take the couch,” you nodded and led the way to your bedroom. You all just needed sleep. Loki could share your bed for that. Plus you’d stolen his last night. It was only fair. Thor hovered, his hand on the small of your back, obviously not trusting that you would remain standing. Thor finally set Loki back on his feet. “Get some sleep,” he bid you both. He left the room and you could hear him turn on the TV in your livingroom. You climbed into your bed and looked expectantly at Loki when he didn’t immediately join you.

    “Are you sure-?”

    “Loki. I’m sure. I wouldn’t have said you were welcome to stay if you weren’t. You let me stay in your bed last night.” You were exhausted and your words were coming out sharper than intended. “All either of us want right now is rest, sleep, and safety. I trust you, so please get in the bed so we can sleep and feel better,”

    He chuckled and climbed into the bed. “Thank you for letting me stay,”

    “Thor was going to be a problem otherwise,” you grinned at him. “Besides, I’m sure I would’ve been across the hall in your bed tonight again anyway,”

    “That is true, witchling,” he laughed and settled himself comfortably among the pillows. You curled yourself up with him.

    “That didn’t hurt like you said it would,” you told him once you were comfortably in the safety of his arms. He stroked your hair, seeming to want the reassurance that you were ok.

    “No. It didn’t. It should have,” he commented distractedly.

    “Maybe because you’ve been teaching me magic?” you asked, surmising the answer from your studies.

    He shook his head. “That is not it. The only other time I have done that particular piece of magic was with Mother, and she was the one who taught me magic. Trust me, that was not a pleasant experience, which was part of why I was so hesitant to attempt it tonight. I did not wish to cause you pain, or more strain on your already taxed body and magic,”

    “I love you too,” you murmured sleepily, your eyes already closing again though you’d only been conscious again for a few minutes.

    You had neglected to remember that you’d never said you love him prior to this. Nor had he to you. It still didn’t dawn on you while you were falling asleep in his arms, content and safe.


	13. Chapter 13

    “Y/N! Y/N, wake up,” Loki bid in the middle of the night, a frantic edge to his voice. “Thor!” he yelled in the direction of the other room when you weren’t waking quickly enough for him. You opened your eyes, looking for the danger, but all you saw was your bedroom and no danger. The lights were coming on properly now that you were awake. Your arms were around Loki, holding him like a plushie while you slept, just as you had done last night.   For some reason his arms were raised above his head, holding on to your headboard as if to keep from touching you.

    “What’s wrong?” you asked him, sleep still in your voice. You looked up at him and couldn’t quite comprehend that his skin was blue, his eyes red. “Loki?” you asked confused, but not scared. Whatever was going on, this was still your Loki.

    Thor came bursting into the room. It only took him a moment to assess the scene. “Lady Y/N, let go of him. Carefully. It is not safe,” Thor said firmly. That was the wrong thing to say and just caused your half-asleep self to glare at Thor, while holding Loki tighter, moving so you were between Thor and Loki.

    Loki sighed heavily. He adjusted carefully, obviously uncomfortable in the position he was in, but not willing to move more to get more comfortable. “Witchling, that is not what he means. He is not going to attack me, right Brother?” Loki addressed Thor.

    “What’s going on?” you demanded instead of moving. Thor came forward and carefully pried your arms off of Loki. “Thor! Get off!” you snarled at him, tempted to use one of Nat’s nasty tricks to get him to let you go. He lifted you bodily from Loki and set you back on the bed once Loki had scrambled to his feet.

    “I’m sorry, Lady Y/N. It really was not safe,” Thor said while you reached under your pillow and pulled out one of the daggers you had also taken to hiding all over your room.

    “One of the two of you better tell me what’s going on very quickly,” you grumbled at them. Loki was standing just out of reach, his arms wrapped around himself, embarrassed, and...ashamed? “Loki?” you asked softly, gently. “Just tell me,” you bid him softly. Thor stepped to the side, assuming you were being reasonable since your voice was calm, even though you were now armed. Thor was used to warrior women always being armed. He was also hopelessly optimistic at times.

    “I told you that my biological parents were Jotuns,” Loki started softly, tears welling in his currently red eyes. You nodded and he continued. “I was adopted by the Asgardians as a baby. Most of the time I can appear as an Asgardian, but after last night...” he had used too much power and couldn’t hold the form, you realized when he wouldn’t finish his sentence. This was his Jotun form. You didn’t care. He was still Loki no matter what he looked like.

    Before either of them figured out what you were doing, you were on your feet in front of Loki. You registered the shocked look on his face as you stood up on your toes and kissed him, your hand brushing his hair back from his face and ending up on his cheek. He froze in shock and...horror? Horror was definitely not his usual reaction to your kisses.

    “Y/N!” Thor yelled. He grabbed you around the waist and ripped you away from Loki. He stood you on your feet in front of him and started looking over your hand and face.

    “Thor~” you grumbled at him. He wasn’t a prude so what the hell was he doing?

    “Where are your injuries?” he demanded firmly when he didn’t immediately see what he was looking for.

    “I’m not hurt, Thor. Let me go,” you told him firmly. “Geez, you brother isn’t going to hurt me just because he happens to look different than usual,”

    “Witchling, that should have hurt you. A lot. You should have gotten frost bitten by touching my skin. You can’t touch a Jotun’s skin,” Loki explained gently. You just looked at him. That didn’t seem logical, besides, you’d just kissed him.

    “With humans it happens in an instant,” Thor added, finally accepting that you weren’t hurt. “It takes longer with Asgardians unless the Jotun is _trying_ to hurt us,”

    “Maybe you should’ve led with that?” you asked them both. Silly boys causing way more drama than necessary. They both burst into laughter at the absurdity of your statement and the situation.

    “Witchling, while I appreciate your reassurance that this form does not disgust you, would you kindly not display that reassurance in such a dramatic manner in the future?” Loki laughed.

    “I’ll see what I can do,” you replied. You looked up at him, worried, and a little afraid. “You aren’t going to come back to bed tonight, are you?” you asked him softly.

    “That would not be a wise decision,” he hesitated. “But you will be distraught if I do not return, which would make me a very poor guardian while you are powerless.”

    “Brother...” Thor warned. He wouldn’t let Loki stay if he thought you would be in danger. “I will stay,” Loki glared, “on the couch,” Thor added quickly before Loki could stab him over suggesting that he would stay in your bed “and guard your _kærasta_ ” that was the second time you’d heard that word. You were going to have to find out what it meant soon. “Get some rest so you can change forms and do your duty properly tomorrow,”

    Loki looked embarrassed again. You saw in his expression that he felt like he was shirking. You had come to him for safety and he was leaving you in his brother’s care. “It’s ok, Loki. Go get some sleep. You won’t rest here if you’re worried over my safety and we both need the rest after saving the kid last night.” You touched his shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

    “Very well, witchling,” he said softly, but you could tell he hated it. “You will take responsibility?” he demanded of Thor.

    “I will. Your lady is safe in my care, Brother,” Thor replied with a small bow. Loki kissed the top of your head where your hair was between your skin and his before he reluctantly returned to his own room. “Do not fear, Lady Y/N. He will be back up to strength in the morning. He is one of the strongest sorcerers in our realm and since he will actually sleep for once, his magic will replenish quickly.”

    “Thanks, Thor,” you said softly, fighting to tear your gaze from the door Loki had just passed through.

    “Are you going to go back to sleep, or will you be making my job difficult?” he asked.

    “I’m going back to sleep. I have school in the morning,” you reassured him. “Are you sure you’re ok on the couch?” you asked.

    “I am fine, Lady. Get some sleep. I will stand guard,” he promised. You leaned up and kissed his cheek, a friendly, familiar gesture.

    “Thanks, Thor,” you repeated, reassured by his promise of protection. He lifted your hand and bowed over it, kissing your knuckles before he left you to return to your bed and sleep.   You were worried about Loki until he texted you that he was fine and to go to sleep. You texted him back a snarky reply that he was supposed to be sleeping too.

    Sleep didn’t come easily until you had three daggers in sheaths around you in the bed all within easy reach.


	14. Chapter 14

    You woke the next morning to Jarvis bothering you to get out of bed. I glared in the general direction the voice was coming from. “I’m up, J,” you told him.

    “Very good, Miss,” he replied pleasantly. You hoped that him being more annoying than usual wasn’t him getting back at you for making him play the Wicked soundtrack 3,000 more times since you saw the show.

    You dressed quickly in jeans, the Loki t-shirt Nat had gotten you, and a hoodie that may or may not have originally been Loki’s. A couple passes of a brush through your hair had you wishing for your magic back to actually be able to do something with it. Loki had taught you quite a few hair spells with strict orders never to tell Thor about them. Unfortunately, you couldn’t _do_ any of them right now, so a ponytail would have to suffice. Besides, you were going to school. There wasn’t any reason to dress nicely or really care what you looked like there. You weren’t happy that you had to leave your daggers behind when you didn’t have your powers, but you couldn’t take them to school. At least you would be spending the day among humans and Nat had made sure you could take care of yourself.

    You were surprised that Thor hadn’t woken while you were getting dressed. You wrote him a post-it note that you were fine and had left for school and carefully attached it to his forehead. Somehow he still didn’t wake. You took a picture of him, smirking at the sight of him lying on your couch with a bright yellow post-it note on his forehead.

    You weren’t at all surprised to see Loki waiting for your outside of your suite’s door. He was back to how he normally looked. “Morning, Loki,” you greeted him before you stood up on your toes to give him a kiss.

    “Good morning, witchling,” he replied with a smile, taking your school bag off of your shoulder so he could carry it himself. Your books were taken from your arms with gentleness, but enough speed that you couldn’t fight him.

    “Loki, I need those,” you grumbled at him, reaching for the books. Silly Trickster.

    “I am aware of that. That is why I am carrying them,” he replied pleasantly. You sighed and rolled your eyes.

    “Fine, silly trickster,” you teased him, but while his hands were busy, you got a selfie of you kissing his cheek. “Jarvis, can you print off that picture and the one I took of Thor this morning?” you asked the air as you and Loki walked to the elevator to head downstairs for breakfast.

    “Yes, Miss. They will print to the printer in the livingroom.”

    “Thanks, Jarvis!” you called. You finally noticed that Loki was wearing the Stark tech again. “Tony put that stupid thing back on you?” you demanded grumpily.

    “Yes. He still does not like me. I could not put up an argument, as I was unconscious at the time. It is fine. No need to fight him over it,” he added before you could get your temper up on his behalf. “Witchling, are you sure you would not prefer to stay home from school?” Loki asked, noting that you had moved closer to his safety when the elevator doors opened to the living room.

    “I have to go. I have a calculus test today,” you reminded him. He’d helped you study for it earlier that weekend. Loki set your things down next to your place at the dining room table and the two of you went to make breakfast together. Loki shoved you behind him the second you entered the kitchen, though. The teen you had saved was in there in a new red and blue suit.

    “Hi! I’m Spiderman!” he greeted you all like an overly excited puppy. “Mr. Stark made me a new suit,” he looked over the two of you. “I know you! You’re Loki of Asgard. Thor’s brother. The one who tried to take over the world.” Loki growled at the kid until you placed a hand on his arm, calming him again. “I don’t know you,” he told me, but the expression on his mask was off. It was harder to read him when you couldn’t see half of his face.

    “You are lying,” Loki told him grumpily. You went with the more polite method.

    “I’m Y/N. I’m the healer who treated you last night,” you told him, still safely behind your Loki-shield.

    “Thanks for that,” Spiderman told you. “Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers said I have to stay here for a few days. They wouldn’t say why, but that they couldn’t be sure I was completely healed until then,” he said glumly.

    You smiled at him. “It’s not bad here,” you replied kindly. You checked your phone for the time. “Damn, looks like poptarts it is,” you grumbled. You’d wasted too much time talking to Spiderman. You ducked around Loki to dig the box of poptarts out from the back of the lowest cabinet. “Goddammit, Thor!” you cursed, throwing the empty box away. “Can I stab your brother for eating my poptarts again?” You asked Loki.

    “I see no problem with that. I have stabbed him for less,” he replied jovially.

    “Hey, Y/N, think you can get Mr. Stark to agree to let me go to school? I feel fine now, and I really don’t want to miss my calculus test,”

    “Mr. Nashid?” you asked automatically, finally recognizing him now that he’d mentioned the calculus test. You were digging for the other box of hidden poptarts and finally pulled the emergency box from under a loose floorboard.

    “Yeah...how did you-?”

    “5th period calculus test today,” you answered, standing again with your prize. You threw all of the poptarts in the toaster, while what you could see of the kid’s face paled.

    “Dude, I saved your life last night,” you reminded him. “Your secret identity is safe with me.” You passed out poptarts to Loki and Spiderman when they were done. The three of you ate them, standing in the kitchen. “Jarvis, where’s Tony?” you asked, feeling sorry for the kid who just didn’t want to miss his test.

    “Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers are heading your way, Miss,” Jarvis replied. That wasn’t what you asked, but them coming here would solve the problem, so you didn’t argue with Jarvis over the semantics.

    Cap and Tony both appeared while you were all finishing your poptarts. Cap turned to Loki first. “Can you go to school with Y/N and guard her?”

    Loki nodded his usual regal reserved nod. “Of course,”

    “Cap!? I’ve never needed a guard at school before,” you protested.

    “We’ve sent a guard with you every month,” he replied, without spelling out that you were without your powers in front of Spiderman. “They just haven’t been so obvious. I’m not leaving you undefended, especially with the trouble we had last night. Try not to act like a couple. I don’t want to get an angry call from the school later,”

    “Fine,” you grumbled, though you were pleased to spend the day with Loki, even if it was when he was pretending to be your guard.

    Spiderman wasn’t paying attention to your conversation with Cap. He was too busy begging Tony: “Mr. Stark, please! I’m fine! I can’t miss this test. Aunt May will kill me!”

    “Fine, but straight to school and straight back. You’re staying here for a couple more nights, kid,” Tony relented. “Happy is driving all three of you to school in five minutes. There’s clothes in the med room for you,” Tony told Spiderman, who ran off to get dressed. You went and grabbed the pictures Jarvis had printed off for you. You shoved them into your calculus textbook for use later.

    Cap was telling Loki he had to dress like a security guard. With a flash of green magic he was dressed in a black suit with white dress shirt, looking like most of the other security guards you’d ever seen around the compound. Except his hair. You went over to him and pushed him to one of the dining room chairs. “Sit,” you told him. He rolled his eyes, but did what you told him.

    “Witchling, what are you doing?” he asked.

    You held out a hand. “Hairbrush?” you asked. He sighed heavily, but the requested item appeared in your hand an instant later. “You don’t look like a security guard with your hair loose,” you told him as you brushed his hair back. He didn’t protest, but sat still while you brushed out his hair, and then tied it carefully into what the media had dubbed a ‘manbun’. You saw the melty look in his eyes while you were working on his hair. He had enjoyed it, though he wouldn’t admit it, especially not in front of the others. “Done,” you announced, moving to stand in front of him. You leaned down to kiss him, enjoy feeling tall for once.

    “Loki, please be careful today,” you finally voiced your concern. He gave you his full attention.

    “Witchling, I am not the one without my powers, and I am fully capable of defending both of us in a physical fight,”

    “That’s not what I mean. We’re going out all day among teenagers who I’m _sure_ will recognize you. Teenagers are not the nicest creatures ever. I’m worried they’re all going to be mean to you,” you confessed. He chuckled.

    “Darling, they will just be curious how you have managed to tame me to be your lowly security guard. It will be fine, I promise,” he laughed. You weren’t entirely convinced that it would be as ok as he thought, but he could protect himself. He could protect you both.

    The alarm on your phone beeped. You all needed to get going or you’d be late. You grabbed your stuff and headed to the elevator to wait for Spiderman with Loki following you, still chuckling, and seeming touched by your concern.

    Spiderman came back out in jeans and a t-shirt with a new backpack slung over his shoulder. He was still wearing the mask. “You forgot your mask,” you told him. He looked away. “Dude, I already know who you are. There’s only one kid in my math class with your build. Hell, there might only be one kid in the school with your build. Cap and Tony probably know who you are by now, and Loki doesn’t care,” Loki huffed and you gave him a look. He really didn’t care who the kid was. “You’re gonna have to take the mask off before we get to school anyway,” you reminded him. “Might as well do it here where your identity is safe,”

    “Your tongue is nearly as silver as mine, witchling,” Loki whispered in your ear while Peter finally took the mask off and shoved it in his school bag.

    “That is high praise indeed,” you replied with a smile.

    The three of you took the elevator down to the first floor of the tower where Happy was parked. If you identified the look in Peter’s eyes correctly when he thought you weren’t looking, Loki was going to care very much who he was soon, and was going to kill the poor kid for the look of adoration you had seen on Peter’s face.


	15. Chapter 15

    Thankfully it was a short drive to the school. You and Peter had to share the backseat of the car and if he shot you one more adoring puppy-dog look you were going to kick his ass before Loki had the chance. Just because you’d saved his life didn’t mean he needed to be an adoring puppy about it. You might have been a bit defensive without your powers. Just a bit...

    When Happy pulled up to the school, Loki was out of the car first and almost instantly at your car door to open it for you. You had expected nothing less, so you hadn’t even bothered to try to open it for yourself. He held the door open and offered you a hand. You took it and let him help you from the car. You grabbed your bag and books and walked into the school, a little nervous at the attention Loki was getting. Loki pretended not to notice. He was walking with you, one step behind, acting for all the world like a perfect bodyguard.

    “Isn’t that Loki, the guy who tried to take over the world?”

    “Nah, it must just be someone who looks like him,”

    Your first stop was to the office. Jarvis had sent you a message that Loki had to sign in as your guard. It was already set up with the staff, but they still had to make everything official. It only took a minute and some very shocked expressions on the receptionists’ faces when Loki signed in as ‘Loki Laufeyson’. They didn’t quite believe it was him until he produced an illusion rose for each of them.

    “Flatterer,” you laughed at him as you walked from the office. He chuckled and followed you to your locker. You spent a few minutes there, carefully taping up the new pictures to add to your collection. You had pictures of the Avengers taped all over you locker, collected over the past few years. Some were serious, most were silly. Some had been stolen when your teammates weren’t paying attention. The one of you and Loki got a place of honor right where you’d see it every time you’d open your locker. It went right next to the one of Loki kissing your hand on your first date, that Pepper had taken. Loki took a minute to look over the pictures and laughed at some of them, especially the one of Thor with the post-it note on his forehead.

    “Hey, Y/N,” Peter’s voice called from down the hall. He was approaching, only a couple lockers away now. Great, just what you needed.

    “Hey Peter,” you greeted him with a smile, trying to be pleasant to him. Under normal circumstances you would have been. Poor kid didn’t know you were a bitch without your powers. Loki put a hand on the small of your back, a reassuring gesture. You gave him a small smile. You were ok. The bell rang the warning that it was time to go to class, saving you from having an awkward strained conversation with Peter. “Sorry! I’ll see you later! I can’t be late to first period again or Magister Wilger will give me detention.” You called, slamming your locker door shut and hefting your morning books more securely in your arms. “This way, Loki,” you rushed into the now-crowded hallway. Loki followed close behind and his presence kept the students from crowding you. You didn’t know how he did it, but you were grateful for it. “You’re going to be bored out of your mind today,” you warned him.

    “I surely hope so, witchling. I would rather you be safe than I be entertained,”

    “I’ll be so glad to get my powers back,” you sighed heavily. “Or at least be allowed to be armed again,”

    “Darling, trust me. You are safe with me,” Loki bid you gently.

    “I know and I do trust you, but I hate having to rely on someone else for my safety,”

    Loki laughed. “You have had fighting lessons from Lady Natasha. You can take care of yourself even without your powers,” he reminded you. You finally relaxed when the crowd thinned out some. You opened the door to your classroom and stepped inside, Loki following directly behind you.

    “Magister Wilger, this is the guard Captain Rogers assigned me after last night’s incident. Thank you for letting him sit in on class with me,” you greeted your teacher extra politely. After that was taken care of, you picked a seat in the back corner of the room where Loki could stand nearby without being in the way. You pulled out your homework and the text you were currently translating.

    A line of handwriting appeared in your notebook shortly into class. It wasn’t your writing, but Loki’s. At least he used a blank piece of paper, instead of one with your notes on translations on it. _Why are you studying Latin?_

     _It was mandatory to take a foreign language and Latin was the only one that would fit in my schedule._ You ripped that piece of paper out of your notebook and set it aside, taking notes on other pages so you could keep talking to Loki on that page.

     _Why did they pick this boring text to read?_

     _Because they hate us and want us to suffer._

    “Miss Y/N, please translate the next line,” Magister Wilger prompted. You looked over the text. You’d only been half paying attention while you were talking with Loki, but you translated the line anyway.

    Class continued without issue until toward the very end. “Does your guard for the day know any Latin?” Magister Wilger asked with a hint of scorn in his voice. It seemed that he had recognized Loki and wasn’t pleased with his presence. You had expected the students to be trouble, not the teachers, not with Cap’s backing.

    Loki inclined his head regally. “I do,” he replied pleasantly, but you could see the dangerous glint in his eye, even if the stupid teacher couldn’t. Magister Wilger stepped away from his podium, offering it to Loki.

    “Would you regale us with a recitation? I’m sure the students would love to hear a voice besides mine speaking the language,”

    “That _is_ Loki,” some of the students started whispering. Loki looked at you. You shrugged. It was up to him. You were in the back corner of the room, perfectly safe here. If he wanted to embarrass the teacher with his silver tongue, that was perfectly up to him.

    He stepped up to the front of the room gracefully. You grinned at his expression. The teacher was doomed. He never should have called Loki out. Loki took the place behind the podium with a small regal bow to the teacher. Magister Wilger seemed to finally realize he had made a terrible mistake by calling Loki out. It was too late to do anything about it, though.

    Loki spoke then, his words warm honey and his inflection perfect. You could sense that every single person in the room was affected by his recitation, but even though he scanned the room as he spoke, his eyes locked on yours for one single moment and you knew the words were really spoken for you:

_Ama me fideliter,_  
_fidem meam nota,_  
_de corde totaliter_  
_et ex mente tota,_  
_sum presentialiter_  
_alens in remota_

    You had been studying Latin for four years and this was an AP level class. Everyone in the room could, and did translate the words as he spoke them, since he spoke them slowly and clearly enough for the room to keep up:

_Love me faithfully,_  
_Know my loyalty,_  
_With all your heart,_  
_With all your mind._  
_I am closest to you_  
_Even when I am far away_

    There were gasps from the room when the students had finished translating in their heads. I just smiled at him, inclining my head to let him know that I had gotten that the message was for me.

    It took every ounce of my self control not to laugh aloud at his next stunt. He gave me a mischievous grin. He knew _exactly_ what he was doing when he recited Catullus’ Carmen 16, and he enjoyed every second of the horror on Magister Wilger’s face, and the shocked delight on the students’. It was _never_ taught in public high school as it was the dirtiest, filthiest poem you had ever heard of.

     _Do not worry. The administration will not hear of this_ Loki’s writing appeared on the page you had been writing notes to each other on during class. You saw the glimmer of green magic and nodded. You’d be safe from fallout from this little piece of mischief. Thankfully, the bell rang the second Loki’s recitation was over. You shoved you things haphazardly in your bag, collected your mischief-loving boyfriend, and left the room before Magister Wilger could try to kill Loki for that stunt.

    You couldn’t help erupting into a fit of giggles when you were safely out of the room. That stunt had been perfect, especially as Loki had used magic to make sure it was a safe trick that you both couldn’t get in trouble for.

    The rest of the morning passed pretty uneventfully. You and Loki wrote notes through your classes and you were both way less bored because of it. None of the other teachers called him out or tried to embarrass him, which was good for their sake.

    At lunch you stopped by your locker to swap out your morning books for the afternoon ones and Loki took the opportunity to look over your collection of pictures again. You led him through the lunch line and tried to tell him to get a lunch, but he protested that he was on duty. You rolled your eyes at him, but saw the look in his eyes that arguing was futile.

    “Y/N!” one of your friends called, waving you over to their table. You sat down with them and chatted for awhile. Peter joined your table, as unobtrusively as possible. You were friendly to him, but not any more so than you were to the others. Loki was standing nearby.

    “Your guard is totally hot. Is he taken?” one of the girls asked.

    “Sorry, he’s got a girlfriend,” you replied innocently. You weren’t supposed to advertise that he was dating you, but you could at least protect him from a bunch of teenage girls throwing themselves at him. You didn’t realize you were playing with the bracelet he had given you for your birthday.

    “Damn! Is it serious?”

    You couldn’t help laughing. “I wouldn’t try to break them up,” you replied instead.

    “Is he _really_ Loki?” You nodded and they squealed in delight.

    “Yes, Loki’s working with the Avengers now,” you shrugged. “But he’s the rookie on the team and got stuck with guarding me today.” It was a plausible reason, even if it was a lie.

    “Why you?” one of them demanded.

    “You guys know I live there...” you hedged. You didn’t go advertising your abilities, even to these friends.

    One of them knew, though. You’d healed her once. Before she could open your mouth to save you, one of the boys spoke up. “Who would be stupid enough to date Loki?” he grumbled. You laughed right along with the girls. You knew that Loki was eavesdropping on the entire conversation. Thankfully the girls gave up after that and started talking about the attack on Queens last night.

    When everyone was getting up to go to their next classes, you handed a wrapped sandwich to Loki. He hadn’t noticed you grab the extra sandwich when you went through the line. He must have been so used to living with warriors that he hadn’t even thought it was weird. “You didn’t eat lunch,” you told him when he raised an eyebrow in question.

    “I am on duty,” he repeated, trying to hand the sandwich back to you. You rolled your eyes. You had planned this too.

    “I’m going in there,” you indicated the bathroom that was right off of the cafeteria. “Where you can’t follow. I’ve seen you eat. While you’re not as bad as Thor, I know you can have that devoured by the time I get back.” He didn’t argue with that logic. He looked shocked and impressed that you had thought enough of him to make sure he was taken care of too.

    “Thank you,” was all he said in reply, but you heard the sincerity, vulnerability, and ... hope in his voice.

    You turned to walk to the bathroom, but stopped short when you heard the terrifying sound of a gun being cocked.


	16. Chapter 16

    You and Loki both whirled toward the sound of the gun. You barely had time to take in the scene. One of the students was standing on one of the lunch tables with a scary looking gun in each hand. You knew nothing about guns, but those didn’t look legal. They were huge.

    In an instant, Loki’s outfit changed to his battle armor, including the golden horned helmet. He whirled back to you, wrapping his arm around your waist before you even registered what was going on. He held you tightly to his side, his cape shielding you from view.

    The guns started going off then.

    A quick teleport had you two next to Peter, who had still been standing nearby. Loki grabbed Peter by the arm and teleported you both to an empty classroom. You were surprised he hadn’t just teleported you back to the tower, until you remembered that his powers were limited by Stark’s tech. He couldn’t teleport that far.

    “Y/N, are you ok?” Loki demanded. You nodded. You hadn’t been hurt. “Call for help. Stay. Here.” He ordered firmly. You nodded again.

    “Wait!? You’re going back out there?” you demanded when his words registered.

    “Those kids are defenseless. Stay here. You’ll be safe,” Loki ordered again. You nodded dumbly. You couldn’t go with him. Your combat skills weren’t up to dealing with those scary looking guns and you knew it, especially without your powers. Nat could’ve done it, but Nat had also had more than seven months of training.

    “Be careful,” you bid him softly.

    “Always,” he replied and teleported away. You rushed to the door and locked it before you pulled your phone from your pocket.

    “Jarvis, call the avengers, tell them to assemble. Call the police and get them to the school. There’s an active shooter in the cafeteria,” you ordered. You looked over at Peter.

    “You ok?” you asked him. He nodded, but looked more upset than anything.

    “I can help, why did he send me away?” Peter asked, lost and hurt.

    “Because, dummy, no one knows your secret except the two of us,” you reminded him grumpily as you sat down in the teacher’s chair. You figured you were going to be here awhile, might as well be comfortable until you could leave. “You got that suit with you?” You asked him. His eyes widened when he finally understood your meaning. He nodded.

    “A little privacy?” he asked. You rolled your eyes, but turned the chair you were in so he could change without you watching. At least he was fast about it. You kept your eyes closed when he moved, just in case. “Sorry about this,” he said, standing in front of you now. You opened your eyes and your mouth to ask what he was sorry for, but before you could, web shot from his wrists, binding your hands to the arms of the chair you were sitting in.

    “Hey!” you protested, struggling against the web, but that stuff was strong and wasn’t budging.

    “Sorry!” he repeated. “It’s not that I don’t trust you to stay here where it’s safe, but I was told explicitly by Mr. Stark not to trust you to stay where it’s safe. He said you’re a healer and you’ll go running into danger to help people.” he ran from the room before you could yell at him any more. Before he left the scene entirely, he webbed the door shut. Great. You weren’t moving until one of the two of them came back for you.

    “Kid? Are you ok?” Tony’s voice came through your phone.

    “Yes, I’m fine. Loki and Spiderman are in the cafeteria. I’m in one of the classrooms,” you replied raising your voice to make sure the phone could hear you from where you were stuck.

    “You sound far from the phone,” Nat commented.

    “Spiderman decided I wasn’t going to stay here because ‘Mr. Stark’ told him not to trust me, so he webbed my hands to a chair. I can’t exactly pick up the phone,” you grumbled. Clint roared in laughter.

    It wasn’t long before Loki teleported back into the room. “Loki!” you called. He rushed over to you. “Are you ok? You weren’t hurt?” you asked him frantically, tugging again at the webs over your hands.

    “I’m fine, witchling. No one was injured. Hold still,” he bid you softly as he knelt in front of you. He used a bit of magic to vanish the webs from your hands. You launched yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

    “I was so worried. Are you sure you’re ok?” you asked, still holding him too tightly.

    “I am alright, darling. I can handle one mentally unstable teenager with a gun. No one was hurt, including one with the guns. The police are taking him to get some kind of mental health care. All of the students are fine. He focused his attention on me, which was the plan. Spiderman tied him up with those webs while he was busy shooting at illusions.” Loki told you gently, holding you safely in his arms. “We are all alright. The students are scared, but none of them were injured,”

    “Guys, come on. Press conference is starting!” Cap’s voice came from your phone.

    “Press conference?” you asked Loki softly.

    “Captain Rogers wants to have a press conference to announce Spiderman as an ally and that I am working with the Avengers. He and Stark think it would do good for me to have some good press,”

    You laughed. “Well, he’s not wrong.” You finally let him go and stood so you could grab your phone from the teacher’s desk and shoved it in your jacket’s pocket, while you zipped up the jacket to hide the image of Loki’s helmet on your shirt, just in case you had to appear on TV. Loki offered you his arm. “Wait a sec,” you bid him with a grin. This is the first time you’d seen him in costume since he’d come to live with you. You snapped a picture of him on your phone, and snagged a couple selfies with him, he even helped you get one of the two of you kissing before you finally agreed to go down to the press conference.

    Nat met you at the entrance to the school. “Cap’s going to do the talking. You two just need to stand there and look pretty. Try not to look like a couple,” she grumbled. “Loki, you might have to answer questions. Try to at least be polite to the stupid Midgardians,” she added.

    “I can be polite,” he replied. Nat glared at him, like she didn’t believe him.

    “Y/N, remind him to be polite,” Nat told you firmly as she stepped out of the school to join the press conference.

    “I don’t know why she expects me to try to make you be polite or behave. I’m the one who wants to make the picture of me kissing you in that helmet my new profile picture...” you commented dryly.

    “Profile picture?”

    “I’ll explain Facebook to you later. In essence, doing that would be about the fastest way in the universe to announce our relationship to all of my friends. Plus anyone who cares about the Avengers, so basically the entire world. I think the only faster way would be to make out during the press conference,” you explained with a laugh. “But Cap would kill us both for that,”

    “But that sounds like so much fun,” he whined. You laughed harder.

    “Not happening, trickster,” you told him firmly.

    “Fine. I will behave. This time. Soon?” he asked hopefully.

    “Soon,” you promised. “As soon as we get home if this press conference goes well,”

    “Good. I wish for that spider to know that you are mine,” Loki growled. Loki must’ve seen Peter’s looks at you all day.

    “Loki...” you said firmly. Thor _had_ warned you that Loki had a possessive streak. You weren’t surprised to see it now. You stood up on your toes to kiss him, giving him the reassurance he needed. “The spider has no chance. He’s just acting stupid because my healing powers saved his life. He’ll get over it,” you reminded Loki.

    “Stop making out, it’s time,” Clint told you from the door. You dropped back to your feet and let go of Loki. You followed Clint out of the school and Loki followed behind you.

    The press conference was boring. You stood off to the side and just hoped that the attention would stay off of you. You weren’t going to appear on TV unless the press pressed the issue on why Loki was here today. It hadn’t exactly been announced that you were part of the team yet. Loki and Peter, both still in costume had to stand next to Cap while he talked about the good work they did here today and how Loki has been an asset to the team since he returned to Earth. He also introduced Spiderman as an ally and praised his work too. He spoke about the incident today and how the kid was getting psychological help. He credited the quick actions of Loki for the lack of injuries today.

    The second the press conference ended, Loki escorted you back into the school, his clothes fading back to the suite he had been wearing all day, his hand on the small of your back as you walked. You weren’t sure the cameras had stopped rolling, but you didn’t argue with Loki either. “Happy is meeting us at the back of the school to drive us and the spider home,” Loki explained.

    “My bag is still in the cafeteria,” you told him. He rolled his eyes, but it appeared on your back an instant later. “Thank you.” Loki held the door open for you. Happy’s car was parked right outside. Loki got you settled in it as quickly as he could. Peter was already in the back seat.

    “That was so cool!” Peter exclaimed and started babbling about the fight and the press conference and every nuance of Tony’s behavior towards him. It was annoying, but he didn’t stop babbling so you didn’t have to talk to him. “Oh, hey, Y/N. I was going to ask you at lunch, but we kinda got distracted. Do you want to go see the new Star Wars movie with me this weekend?” he was an overly enthusiastic puppy. You sighed.

    “Sorry, Peter,” you hated having to do this. Why did he have to be brave enough to ask? “I’m flattered, but I’m actually seeing someone...” you told him.

    “Oh! No problem!” he said too brightly. You had to kick Loki’s chair to get him to stop glaring. “I checked your Facebook. I thought...”

    You shrugged. “Yeah, we haven’t made it Facebook official yet. I’m sure that’ll change soon,” you added knowing exactly what Loki would be wanting to do the second you were safely back home.


	17. Chapter 17

    Loki escorted you to the elevator the second you were home, conveniently closing the elevator doors before Peter could follow you. You wrapped your arms around him, under his suit jacket. “Are you sure you’re ok?” you asked him. He seemed off.

    “Can I stab the spider?” Loki grumbled. You laughed.

    “No, you can’t stab him. I don’t feel like healing him again,” you replied.

    “Let him suffer,” Loki growled softly.

    “Loki...”

    “Fine. I will not stab the spider. Though he deserves it,”

    “Will it make you feel better if I teach you about Facebook?” you asked him, trying to distract your grumpy boyfriend. If he stayed annoyed at Peter the kid was going to get stabbed. Possibly repeatedly. “The whole team has accounts. Watching your brother try to use technology is about the most hilarious thing ever,”

    He finally relaxed, though it took a couple kisses to get him to thaw completely. “That would be an amenable way to spend the afternoon,” he finally agreed, and finally gave you a smile again.

    So you spent the afternoon in your suite with him setting up his Facebook account and showing him how it worked. Thor accepted his friend request instantly and was soon annoying him. “This was a terrible idea,” Loki whined when Thor wouldn’t stop.

    “Here, tag him in this,” you sent the picture of sleeping Thor with the post-it note on his head to Loki, who proceeded to post it and tag Thor. Thor proceeded to yell at you for helping Loki.

    -Can’t you three behave?- Came a comment from Clint. You replied with an embarrassing picture of him from your collection. It involved him being upside down hanging from the ceiling in nothing but his underpants with Nat laughing her ass off at him in the background.

    “Do you have embarrassing pictures of everyone?” Loki asked. You nodded.

    “I save them for special occasions,” you replied with a grin.

    “Remind me not to annoy you,” he commented.

    “I should hope that would be obvious. Even on Asgard it couldn’t be a good idea to annoy your girlfriend,”

    “Fair point,”

    “Ready to really piss them off?” you asked with a mischievous grin. He nodded and you sent him the relationship request. He accepted it moments later and you changed your profile picture to the one of you kissing him while he was wearing his helmet. You set your phone aside to ignore the comments coming in. You’d go through them all later.

    “Nice use of that Catullus poem, by the way. I think Magister Wilger was going to die of a heart attack when you started reciting that.” He laughed.

    “He should not have called me out like that if he did not want me reciting something he did not approve of,”

    That evening you finally went through all of the comments. Most were some mix of disbelief and impression. You posted all of the pictures you had of yourself and Loki to stem some of the disbelief. The team wasn’t entirely pleased that you had announced your relationship, but they didn’t do anything about it either.

    *

    You had the the rest of the week off of school because of the shooter, even though no one had been hurt. That was fine with you. Once you got your powers back you checked out Peter and gave him a clean bill of health. Happy drove Peter back to his Aunt’s house as soon as he was cleared. You didn’t know what story Tony had given her, nor did you much care. Things were easier without him here. You went to Clint next and healed his bullet wound from the other night, plus all of the injuries the team had managed to acquire over the past three days.

    “This isn’t good,” Cap announced as he read a letter than had some to the tower addressed to the team.

    “What is it?” Nat asked. You looked up from the book of Asgardian magic you were working through with Loki on your favorite couch.

    “A sorcerer called Doctor Strange wants to meet those two,” Cap indicated you and Loki.

    “Us?” you asked in disbelief. “Why does he want to meet us?”

    “Apparently, he felt whatever magic you two did to save Spiderman. He wants to meet the ‘two strongest sorcerers he’s ever felt in his city’,” Cap made the quotes with his fingers.

    “That sounds ominous,” you replied. That really didn’t sound good.

    “It’s probably a good idea, though. We need to find out if he can be an ally,” Cap insisted. You sighed.

    “Fine. Did he say when he wants to meet?” you asked.

    “Tomorrow. He gave an address.” You got up to take the address from Cap. “Keep Loki from antagonizing this guy. He sounds powerful.” Why did people keep thinking you could control Loki? It seriously didn’t work that way. You didn’t comment, though, and just pocketed the address.

    “Lady Y/N, come, we have combat training today,” Thor announced as he walked into the room.

    “Combat training?” you asked confused. No one had warned you about combat training today.

    “Yes, c’mon,” Nat added. You sighed and used Loki’s clothes changing spell to change into workout clothes.

    “Alright,” you agreed. You went over to Loki and gave him a kiss. “We’ll continue this later?” you asked.

    “The kisses? Definitely, witchling,” he grinned.

    “I meant the magic lessons, but kisses are good too,” Nat grabbed your arm and dragged you toward the elevator. “Thor, why are you coming?” you asked when he joined you.

    “You need to learn to fight against combatants that are bigger than yourself,” he answered before the elevator doors closed. The three of you rode down to the floor with the training rooms. Nat handed you a pair of heels when you entered the training room.

    “What are these for? I’m never going to fight in heels!” you never wore heels. Ever.

    “No, you’re not. But Tony’s having that party/dance/ball thing in a couple months and you will have to dance in heels,” Nat reminded you pleasantly.

    “Will not,” you protested. You didn’t know how to dance.

    “Will too,” Nat replied, her voice still too pleasant. She was enjoying this. “It’s required and besides that boyfriend of yours enjoys dancing,”

    “He does,” Thor agreed. You sighed and put the stupid heels on. Thankfully, you did know how to walk in the damn things, even if you refused to wear them. Nat gave you a few pointers to walk more gracefully in them. You practiced and her advice really did help.

    You spent the rest of the afternoon with them teaching you how to waltz and the basics of a couple other of the ballroom style dances, just in case Tony’s party turned in that direction. With Tony’s parties they either ended up as nearly as formal as a cotillion, or a drunken party. There was rarely an in between. Thor was your dance partner for the afternoon while Nat made corrections.  He also taught you and Natasha one of the formal court dances from Asgard. Apparently it might be played at the party too.

    “Would you like to know how to really impress my brother?” Thor asked after you had the waltz and Asgardian dance fairly well down. You would be practicing during ‘combat training’ for the next couple of months until the party.

    “Of course,” you replied. Thor smiled excitedly.

    “Then allow me to teach you this dance and the song that goes with it. I will make sure Tony plays it. It will mean the world to Loki.” You nodded excitedly. Surprising Loki was difficult, but it would be worth it if you could pull it off. Thor sang the words in Asgardian, which from your understanding was an ancient form of Icelandic or Old Norse. The words were unfamiliar, but the melody...

    “For the Dancing and the Dreaming?” you asked, finally placing the tune. Thor just stared at you.

    “How-?”

    “Jarvis, can you play For the Dancing and the Dreaming?” you asked instead of answering Thor. The music started playing in the training room. You smiled as you listened to it. You loved this song.

    “How do you know this song?” Thor asked.

    “It was in a movie about Vikings,” you explained. “I’ll show the movie to you and Loki after the party,” Thor nodded, accepting both your words and the invitation.

    “That will make this easier.”

    Poor Jarvis had to play the song quite a few more times while Thor taught you the dance that went with the song. You would need a lot of practice and a lot of memorization of the lyrics (thankfully Thor had reassured you that you could sing it in English and it would still have the same effect) before you’d feel comfortable with it, but you were excited to surprise Loki. It really would mean the world to him.


	18. Chapter 18

    “I should send a babysitter with you two,” Cap commented at breakfast the next morning. You weren’t even doing anything, just minding your business eating your pancakes.

    “I thought I _was_ the babysitter,” you replied between mouthfuls of pancake.

    “That’s a terrifying thought,” Tony quipped. You threw a dagger at him across the table. He fell out of his chair, even though you had vanished the dagger again before it even touched him. “They fight the same now,” Tony grumbled while Loki gave you a proud, pleased look.

    “You guys weren’t invited, Cap. Strange only wants to meet with the sorcerers who caused the power spike,” you reminded Cap logically, returning to your pancakes.

    “Y/N, whatever you two do, do _not_ make this man our enemy,” Cap ordered firmly.

    “We won’t, Cap. We’ll be polite and see what he wants,” you replied. “All he said he wants is to meet us.”

    “Just be careful,”

    “I’ll be careful, and armed,” you reminded him.

    “Don’t go looking for a fight,” Cap added.

    “Cap, I’m going in a dress and heels. Believe me, I do not want to fight in these clothes.” You finished your pancakes and got up to deal with the dishes. You were wearing a black and white dress that usually lived in Nat’s closet. It was more professional looking than most of your dresses. It also somehow gave you an innocent air, especially with your hair loose. You were going for the innocent, mischief-free look when you went to your meeting with Doctor Strange. Loki was Loki and wouldn’t be able to get away with an innocent act no matter how he dressed, so you were hoping Strange would underestimate you instead if things went poorly.

    “Are you driving, Loki?” you asked. He usually preferred to do the driving when the two of you went out. He nodded and stood, vanishing his own breakfast things into the kitchen. He was wearing his perfectly tailored all-black suit.

    You took his hand and squeezed it as you both walked to the elevator. You were nervous about this meeting. “Darling, it will be alright,” Loki reassured you in the elevator. That didn’t stop you from leaning up to kiss him. “Kisses are always pleasant, witchling, but we do have a meeting to get to,” you sighed, but walked with him to the car you always took. You weren’t quite sure who the car actually belonged to. You had a suspicion that it was Tony, but it didn’t much matter.

    It was a short drive over to the address Doctor Strange had provided. It was a huge building with a giant circle window at the top. Loki offered you an arm and you placed your hand on his arm in a now-familiar movement. You dropped Loki’s arm when you reached the front door of the place and raised your hand to knock when you suddenly saw a circle of golden light under Loki’s feet. “Loki?” you asked, staring at the circle.

    “That is not me,” Loki replied dumbly. You both knew that. You knew the feel of his magic quite intimately after saving Spiderman. You reached for him to try to pull him out of the golden circle, but before you could get a hand on him he fell through the circle with a yell.

    “Loki!” you yelled at the spot where he’d been. You whirled, a dagger drawn and blue magic gathered in your other hand, when the door opened beside you.

    “Miss Y/N,” you were greeted by a tall gentleman in a blue kimono tunic and bright red cape. “No need for such dramatics,” he added, eyeing your dagger and the magic bolt gathered in your other hand.

    “Where’s Loki?” you demanded, figuring this man had been the one who created that golden light circle.

    “He’s safe. Come inside and we can discuss this without all of New York watching,”

    You glared up at him. “Your word that Loki is safe?” you demanded.

    “I swear it on my medical license,” he replied. You could hear the truth in his voice, another trick you’d picked up from Loki. You vanished the dagger and bolt of magic and stood straight again, rising from the fighting stance you had automatically assumed. Nat would be proud that you had automatically assumed the stance. You straightened out your skirt and stepped inside the building. The door closed behind you. The next instant you were sitting in a comfortable chair facing him across a desk. “Tea?” he asked as a cup of tea appeared in your hand.

    “Doctor Strange, I assume?” you asked as you sipped on your tea. He inclined his head.

    “I am the Sorcerer Supreme, a wizard, if that explanation makes you happier. I keep a list of people and beings in all the realms that may be a danger to Earth,” he continued, not one for long introductions it seemed.

    “And you think I’m on that list?” you surmised, setting your tea down.

    “I know your boyfriend is, and he _is_ the one teaching you magic, is he not?” You heard the threat in his tone. If Loki was on the list, you were on the list.

    “He is the one teaching me to use my powers,” you replied carefully. “He’s also working with the Avengers now, or did you miss the press conference?” you asked with a touch of temper in your voice.

    “But you’re human,” he replied, looking at his notes. You shrugged.

    “Apparently my magic is close enough to his for him to teach me.” You weren’t going to tell him that at least one of your parents was Asgardian. It wasn’t something you wanted to advertise, and was none of his business. “Besides, my primary power is healing. I really don’t think that qualifies me for your list. I’m also one of the few things in this realm that Loki actually likes and one of the few people he’ll actually listen to, which are both excellent reasons for me to continue being alive,”

    “You misunderstand, I have no intentions on killing you, Miss Y/N,”

    “Then what are your intentions?” you asked, trying to remain polite. Cap had made you promise to be polite.

    “First, I wish to give you a tour of this place and an explanation of what we do here,” Doctor Strange stood. You got to your feet and weren’t terribly surprised when you were in a room full of books of magic. “This is a place of magical learning.” You were next in a training yard of people practicing that golden magic. “We are all here learning to defend the Earth from outside threats.” You were suddenly back in the entryway. “You’re a strong enough sorceress to be a true asset to the Earth. I know you wish to work with the Avengers, and I won’t try to convince you away from that goal, but I will offer that you are always welcome to stop by to study here. Provided you stay off of my list,” he added with a smile. “I will even allow that boyfriend of yours to study here as well...as long as you’re here with him, fetterer,”

    That was the second time that word had come up recently, and you felt the pendant on your necklace warm under your shirt. It was another word to add to the list of weird words that kept coming up recently. The other one was _Kærasta_ which you still hadn’t had the chance to look up the definition of.

    The door to the outside opened in front of you.

    “I’ll be needing my boyfriend back,” you reminded Strange.

    “Oh, yes, of course,” he replied as if he’d actually forgotten that he’d stole Loki. With a small circle of his hands a golden circle appeared in the ceiling of the room. Loki fell through it and crashed hard to the ground.

    “I have been falling for _thirty minutes_!” Loki snarled as he jumped to his feet with daggers in his hands. You rushed over to him and placed a hand against his chest.

    “Loki, it’s ok,” you told him gently.

    “It is most certainly _not_ ok,” he glared over your head at Doctor Strange.

    “Loki...” Your tone was exasperated as you touched his cheek. He finally took his attention off of Doctor Strange and back to you. “It was a misunderstanding, you can drop the daggers.” He glared at Doctor Strange one last time before vanishing the daggers. “The Doctor is very sorry for the confusion and offered to let us study magic from his shiny rare books. Right, Doctor?” you asked, turning to face Doctor Strange again, your arm around Loki’s waist in case he decided to cause trouble.

    “Of course, Miss Y/N. Apologies, Loki for the confusion,”

    “C’mon, Loki, I think thirty minutes of our presence is all the Doctor can handle for one day,” you teased. Doctor Strange looked like he agreed with your sentiment and was glad to see the two of you go.

    “You are planning on telling me exactly what happened in there, right, witchling?” Loki asked as the door slammed shut behind the two of you.

    “Duh,” you replied. He laughed as you linked your arm with his to walk back to the car. You told him everything that happened with Doctor Strange.

    “You would not prefer to study with the Sorcerer Supreme, instead?” Loki asked softly, his tone had that bruised scared edge to it that you thought you had kissed out of him by now. In reply you grabbed his tie and pulled him down gently to kiss him. He chuckled and let you so he wouldn’t get choked by his tie.

    “Of course not, silly Trickster,” you replied after a couple of kisses.

    *

    “Report!” Captain Rogers demanded the second you and Loki got off of the elevator on the common floor. You should have been expecting him to wait for you. Your hand was in Loki’s, you tapped one of your fingers against the back of his hand, a silent warning for him to keep his mouth shut. You didn’t want to tell Cap about the falling for thirty minutes incident. You gave Cap a very abbreviated version of events where Doctor Strange wanted to meet you, verify what side you were on, and offer the use of the sanctum for magic studies.

    “He’s an ally, Cap,” you finally concluded

    “Good work,” Cap answered, not questioning your story, for which you were grateful. You didn’t want to tell him about Loki being kidnapped by Strange. Loki apparently thought it wise not to bring it up as well.


	19. Chapter 19

    You spent the next month in even more lessons than usual. It was a nightmare. You had school, magic lessons with Loki, magic lessons with Doctor Strange, dancing lessons with Thor and Nat and occasionally Tony and Pepper, plus actual combat lessons. You passed out on the couch over your homework more than one night from overwork. “Witchling, you have _got_ to learn to pace yourself and say ‘no’ occasionally,” Loki scolded gently one night as he carried you to your bed after you’d passed out on the couch trying to finish your calculus homework.

    “I can say no,” you murmured, only half-awoken by his words.

    “Sure you can, witchling,” he chuckled. “I have yet to hear you say that you cannot take on an additional training or lesson,”

    “That’s cuz I can,” you replied. He sighed in loving exasperation.

    “You do not have to keep proving yourself. You are already part of the team, and they need to learn to respect your limits,” he reminded you gently.

    “I love you too,” you murmured, cuddling yourself more comfortably in his arms and dozing back off.

    One of these days one of the two of you might say the words while you were awake...

    *

    Your respite came the next morning. You hadn’t even realized the date at first, but knew as soon as you went down to breakfast the something was wrong. Everything felt wrong and you could smell the magic in the air. On a hunch you asked. “Jarvis, what’s today’s date?”

    “It is April the first, miss,”

    “Shit,” you mumbled. You cursed again when the elevator doors open and you spotted the rest of the team. You should _not_ have come downstairs today.

    “Y/N! What’s going on?!” Cap demanded when ‘he’ spotted you. The trouble was that all of the team was currently the opposite gender. They all looked pissed, except Thor who was just shoving your poptarts in his currently female face.

    You shrugged as you stepped into the room and onto the battlefield. You hadn’t been affected by this spell. “No idea. It wasn’t me,” you replied, actually innocently. You had nothing to do with this. You tried so very hard not to laugh at Tony playing with his boobs.

    “You’re the only one not affected,” Bruce said logically.

    You shrugged again and stole some of the poptarts from Thor. Thor growled at you, but the effect was diminished out of a female throat. You kissed him on the cheek in reply, enjoying annoying your adopted older brother. “Thanks for sharing,” you grinned. “I didn’t know anything about this until I walked off the elevator. And before you ask, I haven’t seen Loki this morning and don’t know where he is. He’s probably laughing at all of the chaos,”

    “You’re supposed to keep a leash on him,” Tony grumbled, finally looking up from his new boobs.

    “Even if it _were_ my job to keep a leash on him, which it’s not, since he’s my boyfriend, not my prisoner; today is April Fool’s Day. Even _I’m_ not stupid enough to try to think I have _any_ control over anything he does today. My advice is try to stay in his good graces so the pranks don’t get worse,” you told them as you sat with Thor to eat poptarts. “At least you’re all still pretty,” you added, earning you more glares and curses from the team.

    “And why are you unaffected?” Clint asked.

    “It is unwise to upset one’s _kærasta_ ,” Loki’s voice came from the elevator, but it wasn’t quite right. You turned with everyone else to watch the beautiful woman with long black hair step out of the elevator. You grinned and got to your feet to rush over to Loki.

    “Morning Loki. Decided to join in the fun?” you asked her. She was still taller than you, but not as much so as usual. She looked hesitant, worried, unsure of your reaction. So you leaned up and kissed her, just like you would have on any other day. You saw the relief in her eyes and smile.

    “It seemed like such fun. Would you care to join us?”

    “No, thank you. Not my cup of tea,” you replied. You took Loki’s hand and led her to the dining room table where you stole more poptarts from Thor.

    “How come _she_ gets a choice?” Tony demanded like a petulant child.

    “ _Kærasta_ ,” Loki repeated pleasantly.

    “Care to explain that word, love? You keep using it and I’d like to know what it means,”

    “It means ‘darling’” Loki started

    “Or ‘beloved’” Thor added. You nodded and stored that piece of information away.

    “An emergency has come in with a group of enhanced,” Jarvis announced.

    “Show us,” Cap and Tony ordered at the same time. Footage came up on the screen of people blowing up buildings.

    “Suit up,” Cap ordered. “Loki, lift your spell!”

    “I cannot. The spell ends at midnight. Not a moment sooner,” Loki replied with a grin, enjoying the chaos. It wasn’t really hurting anything, since everyone still had their powers and skills, just the wrong body parts.

    “Um...Cap. None of our suits will fit,” Nat reminded everyone.

    “Sure they will,” Loki said pleasantly. “I am not a heathen.” Everyone had to have clothes that would fit, and look nice, or Loki would’ve been sad.

    “You and Y/N are coming too. This looks bad and we need everyone’s help. Meet us on the flight deck. You have five minutes,” Cap addressed that last part to everyone. You and Loki used magic to change into your battle costumes. Loki’s was changed for being female today, but she still had the golden horned helmet. Yours was just a plain black SHIELD uniform. It looked nearly identical to Nat’s. You tied your hair back carefully.

    “Need one?” You asked offering Loki a hair-tie. She laughed and shook her head.

    “My hair will not misbehave during a mission.” You slipped the hairtie back on your wrist among its friends.

    “We better get upstairs,” you said a bit nervously. You weren’t usually brought along on missions. Cap must’ve thought this would be bad.

    “We will be fine, darling,” Loki reassured you as you rode the elevator upstairs. Thor was next to join you. The others took longer getting ready, except Nat, who didn’t seem as affected by the body-change as everyone else. She started setting up the jet you were all going to take. Everyone else rushed into the jet and took their seats. You watched excitedly as the plane took off. Loki giggled at your reaction.

    “I’ve never flown before,” you explained. “Well, except once, but that was by Thor and not by airplane, so it doesn’t count,”

    “When did Thor fly you?”

    “After he saw what my foster father did to my face. He decided to take me to the Avengers tower that instant,” you explained as you watched the world out the window of the jet. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

    It wasn’t long before you reached your destination. “Y/N, stay under cover and out of the direct fight. We don’t want to lose our healer. Don’t be stupid,” Cap ordered to you as your part of the directions. “Protect the healer,” Cap ordered the others. You tried not to roll your eyes. You could protect yourself.

    You and Loki stuck together for the beginning of the battle. You both fought very similarly, using magic and illusions and being out of the line of fire instead of trying to take the hits. “Kid, Clint’s been shot!” Tony’s voice came over the device in your ear.

    “Again?” You grumbled. “Where is he? Set a flare and I’ll teleport there,” The flare appeared and you teleported to the spot. Tony was standing over Clint, defending him. “I’ve got this,” you told Tony as you knelt beside Clint and got to work, throwing a shield around the two of you for protection until the healing was complete. Tony jetted off to go fight other things. You got Clint healed and he jumped back up to get back to the attack.

    After that, you had to teleport all around the battlefield, healing your friends and throwing magic and daggers at the enemies.

    “There’s a healer!” one of the bad guys called when they caught you healing Cap. Cap shielded the two of you with his shield the next instant when the enemies converged on you. You grabbed Cap and teleported both of you behind the line of the bad guys. Thor dropped from the sky and hit Cap’s shield with his hammer, knocking out that entire group.

    “Y/N, get to Nat!” Clint’s voice was frantic in your ear.

    “Where is she?” you demanded. Stark sent up another flare. You teleported over there and knelt beside Nat to get to work healing her. “Stark, guard us. I can’t keep teleporting all over, making shields, and healing.” Your magic was strong, but even you had limits and this fight was going to test them.

    It took a lot more magic and a ton more healing during battle before the battle was done. Everyone was drained by the time you finally defeated the enhanced and bound them for SHIELD to come collect.

    You still had one more job and had to use more magic to calm the Hulk so he could change back into Bruce. It took awhile to get Hulk to recognize you. He was still so battle hazed. You finally had to rip your hairtie out with a bloody hand so Hulk could see your hair. “It’s me, Hulk. The healer,” you said softly, gently, using soothing magic as soon as you got close enough. You placed a hand on Hulk’s arm when he finally calmed enough and shoved more soothing magic into him, until he stumbled away a few steps to change back into Bruce. You summoned a cape to wrap around Bruce, since Loki’s spell was still in effect and you were sure that Bruce didn’t want everyone to see him without a shirt when he was a girl.

    Loki pulled you to your feet while Nat helped Bruce to his. “Are you ok?” you asked Loki. You hadn’t seen her for most of the battle and your healer instincts took priority to everything else.

    “I’m fine, witchling. The battle is over. We can all go home now,” Loki wrapped an arm around you to support you on the walk back to the jet. Thor came up and wrapped an arm around your other side.

    “Good work today, healer,” he said jovially.

    “Thanks, Thor,” even your voice sounded tired.

    The flight home was uneventful, everyone slept and Jarvis flew the plane home. They praised your work again, knowing full well that your battlefield healing was the only reason that fight wasn’t a thousand times worse. The group passed out in the livingroom after drinks for their nerves. You were excluded from that due to your age and the fact that Cap was in the room. You passed out curled on the couch with Loki regardless.

    You stole an image of everyone passed out in the wrong genders from Jarvis’ footage later to tape up in your locker and add to your collection.

    Loki’s spell was nearly over when the group woke again. You somehow convinced them to take a group picture in costume before the spell ended. That picture was definitely going up in your locker. Hell, it was on Facebook thirty seconds after it was taken. The internet loved the April Fool’s joke.

    You walked upstairs with Loki after the team had raided the fridge so you could get some proper sleep. Your hand was in Loki’s and you were chatting as you walked, like nothing had changed. “It does not disturb you to see me like this?” Loki asked, her voice worried and scared.

    “Love, what is it going to take to convince you that I don’t care what you look like? You’re my Loki no matter what form you’re in. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, Jotun, Asgardian, human. I love you no matter what,” you told her firmly. You felt the thousand shades of red your face turned when you realized what you said.

    “I love you too, witchling,” Loki replied and leaned down to kiss you. You met her halfway. The clock chimed midnight while you were kissing.

    “The spell didn’t end?” you asked when the kiss broke and you saw that Loki was still female.

    “This was not part of the spell. I just wished to be female,” Loki replied with a grin.

    You shrugged. “Fair enough,”

    “The rest of the team is back to normal,” she added.

    “That’s good. Tony’s a whiny baby when he has boobs,” you laughed, getting a giggle out of Loki too.

    “Tony is always a whiny baby. Just because he suffered defenestration once he forever does not like me,” Loki mock-whined.

    “Poor baby,” you laughed, but your laugh was punctuated by a yawn. “I should get some real sleep. The team can’t survive a minute in the fight without someone needing healed. Night Loki,”

    “Goodnight, witchling,” she replied. You gave her one last kiss before entering your own suite to get some sleep.

    *

    A few days later you had to go hunting Loki in the building. He wasn’t at breakfast and hadn’t been in his room when you went looking for him that morning. You’d braved downstairs with the largest dagger you’d found hidden in Loki’s room and without your powers. “Jarvis, do you know where Loki is?” You had to ask when Loki wasn’t at breakfast.

    “He is downstairs training with Thor,” Jarvis replied.

    “Thank you, Jarvis,” you replied and headed back to the elevator to go find your wayward boyfriend. He was in one of the training rooms with Thor, where they were sparring shirtless. You took a minute to take some pictures and enjoy the view before you entered the room and drew attention to yourself.

    They both turned and greeted you at the same time. Loki rushed over to you, concern in his expression. “Witchling, you should be in bed,” he said gently. You nodded, sure he could feel that you were without your powers.

    “I was going to go curl back up with a book, but this seems like way more fun to watch.” You’d rather spend the morning with him than hiding alone in your room. They both chuckled at that.

    “You can stay and watch if you would like,” Loki told you with a smile. Thor nodded agreement. “But that cannot be the reason you came down here?”

    “No, I came to see if you had any tea?”

    He gave you a warm smile. “Of course, darling,” he replied. He summoned you a comfortable chair with a throw blanket and got you settled there with a cup of his healing tea. You watched them spar, enjoying both the view of the two very handsome men shirtless, and their very different fighting styles. The fear was still there in the back of your mind, but you knew you were safe in Loki’s company, and by extension, Thor’s. You didn’t know how long they worked, they both had more stamina than humans and could and did fight for hours. The tea cup refilled itself and the saucer floated next to you so you didn’t need a table.

    “Witchling, how asleep are you?” Loki asked softly a long while later.

    “‘m awake,” you murmured, trying to open your eyes. It didn’t work so you gave up. Your head was pillowed on your arms, on the arm of the chair, curled up like a kitten under the throw blanket.

    “I see that,” he replied dryly. “Thor and I are done down here. Time to finish your nap in your own bed.” He lifted you carefully into his strong arms, cradled against his cool, still shirtless, chest. You didn’t wake any further. You were safe with him, even without your powers.

    “You love her, brother,” Thor commented. “I have never seen you like this in all of our years,”

    “I believe the Earth term is ‘duh’,” Loki replied defensively. “She is my girlfriend. It would be a bad sign indeed if I did not love her,”

    “You have had girlfriends and flirtations before. This is not that,”

    “What is your point, Thor?” Loki grumbled, still defensive.

    “My point, darling brother, is that you tend to poke at things until they break and do stupid things for attention. She could be your _eiginkona_ if you do not to something stupid to mess it up or scare her away,”

    “She has not been scared away by my Jotun form or my desire to occasionally be female; I doubt anything could scare her,” Loki’s voice was full of pride and joy.

    “That may be true. It is obvious how much she loves you, brother. She just spent an entire morning without her powers in the company of two fighting men. I think only Lady Sif would have done anything like that at home,”

    “Sif would have joined in to kick both of our asses for being male in her presence. We should be glad that Y/N just wanted to watch.”

    Thor chuckled. “The point is, that your darling braved her fear just to spend time with you this morning, and trusted you enough to fall asleep while we were sparring and she is vulnerable. Do not be stupid now that you finally have what you have always been looking for, brother,”


	20. Chapter 20

    “Hey Loki, Thor?” you asked one evening while staring at a writing assignment you had been given in class that you had been procrastinating on. Both men turned their attention to you. “I have to write a stupid paper about mythology for one of my classes. Do you mind helping?”

    “Did you decide to write about Norse mythology just to make us help you?” Loki asked, his tone impressed by your mischievous method of getting a good grade. You stuck your tongue at him.

    “Of course I did. I’m literally living with two of the gods from Norse mythology. Besides, my teacher basically threatened to fail me if I picked anything _besides_ Norse mythology. I think she wants me to bring Thor in as some kind of show-and-tell,”

    “What is show-and-tell?” Thor asked, obviously wondering what he was possibly getting drafted for.

    “It’s an assignment usually given to small children in school to bring something from home to show off to the class and stand in front of the class to talk about it,” you explained quickly.

    “And your teacher wants you to bring me in and show me off?” Thor asked.

    You rolled your eyes. “She thinks you’re hot. Handsome,” you added before he could question why his physical temperature mattered. “I should just bring you in,” you directed that comment to Loki. “And kiss you in front of the class. Unfortunately, I’d probably get failed for that...”

    “It would be fun, though, especially if she thought you were bringing in Thor,” Loki chuckled. They did finally agree to help you with the paper, though, which was a huge help.

    “Did you really give birth to a horse?” you asked Loki incredulously, looking up from one of the websites you were using for research.

    “Did I what?” Loki demanded, ripping the laptop from your hands to stare at the screen in angry shock and horror while you and Thor roared in laughter. “No, I did not give birth to a horse,” Loki grumbled, handing the laptop back while grumbling about stupid Midgardians making up illogical stuff.

    “I take it you are also going to say you aren’t the father of Fenrir the wolf or Jörmungandr the world serpent?” you asked him, teasing. He glared at your laptop while you laughed.

    “I have no children,” he finally answered grumpily, sulking. “I have also never been married,” he added quickly when he saw the next paragraph. “Where did these mortals get such stupid ideas?”

    “You _were_ to be betrothed once,” Thor cut in extremely unhelpfully. Loki glared at him and drew a dagger. You reached over and took the dagger from Loki before he could throw it at Thor.

    “You were?” you asked, softly. Loki nodded, but wouldn’t look at you.

    “It was almost twenty years ago it was just a political arrangement. Odin was the one setting it up. It fell through before I even met the girl,” he said quickly. You could tell he wanted to change the subject.

    “Did you really pretend to be Freya to get your hammer back from giants?” you asked Thor to help change the subject. He laughed and nodded.

    “That was great fun indeed!” he exclaimed and went into the story about how his hammer was stolen by the giants and they demanded Freya’s hand in marriage in exchange for its return. So Thor dressed as Freya with Loki as his handmaid to go get the hammer back.

    “Oaf nearly got us caught by eating the entire wedding feast,” Loki grumbled, but had a look of fond reminiscing on his face.

    “I was _hungry_ it’s hard to pretend to be a lady all day. Not all of us can shapeshift into females, brother,”

    “I _offered_ to use my magic for you too,” Loki shot back. Neither of them knew that you were recording this conversation and it was totally ending up as part of your paper.

    “How’d you get the hammer back?” you asked, trying to get them back on track.

    “During a wedding ceremony a hammer representing mjolnir is placed in the bride’s lap. The giant literally set mjolnir in my lap!” Thor laughed.

    “Then we had to fight our way out of there, because Thor refused to sneak back out after he had his hammer back,”

    “There was no need to sneak once I had mjolnir back. The giants all died. It was a glorious battle!”

    You got your paper written that night with plenty of input and stories from the boys and some audio files to include in the email as interview material.

    You got a perfect score on that paper and brought your teacher a signed picture of Thor and Loki after the grade was posted. It was hard enough to get them to pose together for a picture, but Loki did it because you asked and even pretended to smile for the picture.


	21. Chapter 21

    The night of Tony’s party...dance...event finally arrived. You still weren’t quite sure how to classify it and it probably wouldn’t have a real classification until much later that evening when everyone decided if it was more cotillion or more drunken drinking party. It was a toss-up with Tony.

    You were excited for the event, especially after months of learning how to dance in preparation for the evening. It was going to be a crowded event, too. Tony was hosting it in the ballroom of the Avenger’s tower. You hadn’t even known there _was_ a ballroom in the tower until a couple of weeks ago. One of the entire floors was a ballroom with a bar on one side and tables for food and socializing spread around the edge of the giant room.

    Every celebrity, famous person, and socialite in the city (and some outside of the city) wanted an invite to this event. Some only wanted to see the inside of the tower, most wanted an opportunity to befriend, or “befriend” one of the Avengers.

    The boys were already in the ballroom, greeting the first guests while you, Nat, Pepper, Maria Hill and a couple of the other girls of SHIELD were up in your suite getting ready. You had agreed to do their hair for the evening after Nat had found out about the hair spells Loki had taught you. It didn’t take much magic and you were able to do their hair perfectly and used a bit of magic to make sure none of their hairdos came undone dancing during the evening.

    You all had gorgeous updos, though you had left a couple of curls loose on yours to frame your face, and floor length gowns. Your gown was a halter gown, which fit perfectly, and was the exact shade of blue at your magic. You wore the bracelet from Loki and drop earrings as your only jewelry, besides the necklace you always wore, but as usual, the pendant on the necklace was out of sight. It was shy.

    Once everyone was ready, and the group had double-checked everyone’s dresses, hair, and makeup, you all piled into the elevator to head down to the ballroom. The doors of the elevator opened and you fought to keep your mouth from falling over at how gorgeous the room was. Pepper had done an excellent job having it decorated for the event.

    The room was already crowded, though the event had barely begun. The attention from those nearby turned to your group as you all got off the elevator, but none of the boys were nearby that you could see. Pepper spotted Tony quickly, and the rest of the girls split off to go find friends or loved ones. You wandered into the crowd, looking for your wayward boyfriend.

    You were kind of surprised that Loki wasn’t waiting at the elevator for you. He’d been hesitant to come down without you. You spotted Thor quickly and went to say hi. “Lady Y/N!” he greeted you enthusiastically before he bowed over your hand to kiss your knuckles. It was strange to see him in a suit, but he looked good in it. “You look wonderful tonight,”

    “Thanks, Thor. You look great tonight too. Any chance you’ve seen that brother of yours?” you asked.

    “He said he was going to the bar to get a drink,” Thor answered.

    “I better go find him before he gets in trouble,” you replied with a smile.

    “That is very true. Good luck,” he bid you. You made your way over toward the bar. You didn’t get stopped as often as the rest of the Avengers, most people didn’t recognize you yet, since you didn’t go out on many missions and didn’t get nearly as much screen time as the rest of the team.

    You did laugh when you saw Peter there wearing a suit and his Spiderman mask. “Hi Spidey,” you greeted him when you were close enough. He stuttered over a greeting and over telling you that you looked nice. Poor kid still wasn’t over his crush. “You clean up nicely too,” you added kindly before you continued on your way to the bar.

    Loki was there talking to a woman in a...slutty... looking dress. You could tell from his demeanor that he was pissed, but he was trying to be polite. Whatever was going on wasn’t good. You rushed over a little more quickly. You couldn’t rush too quickly or you’d draw unwanted attention to yourself and the situation. You slowed enough to look casual when you reached them and went to Loki with a smile on your face. You had an idea what this was and why Loki was so pissed. You’d have to tread lightly not to anger him more. He smiled when he saw you, and the woman who was babbling at him unfortunately got the idea that he was smiling at her.

    “I knew you’d warm up,” she purred.

    “Hello, love, sorry it took so long to get down here. You know how women are about getting ready,” you greeted Loki with a smile. You saw the brief look of relief in his expression.

    “You look ravishing this evening, darling,” he replied and bowed over your hand to kiss your knuckles. The woman got the hint and rushed away before you could turn your attention to her.

    “You look quite handsome tonight yourself,” you told Loki as he rose again. He was wearing a perfectly tailored black suit with an emerald green tie. “Are you ok?” you asked when his gaze caught the woman again as he was picking his drink up from the counter. The glass exploded in his hand, crushed in his grip. “Loki!” you exclaimed. You took his hand and started pulling the shards of glass from it.

    “I cannot believe how insulting some of these women are,” he growled. “Insinuating that I should sleep with them, that I should give you up for someone...experienced.” You flushed at that, knowing exactly what kind of experience they were flaunting, and you didn’t have.

    “Loki, it’s ok. They’re just stupid. We can’t kill them because they’re stupid. I know you’re not interested in them. They’ll mostly leave you alone now that I’m here. It’s a game to them to be with someone famous. Besides, you’re hot, of course they’d be interested.”

    “That’s just it. They are only interested in me, in any of us for our bodies, of the fame of the heroes,” he grumbled.

    “But I’m not. I love all of you,” you reminded him gently. He finally relaxed at that, starting to smile again. You still held his hand in yours, carefully removing the shards of glass. When you had gotten them all, you vanished the broken glass, healed his hand, and tied a blue handkerchief around his hand where the wound had been, making sure it stayed with magic.

    He just looked at the handkerchief, but you saw the smirk in his expression. “You have already healed the wound, witchling,” he commented dryly.

    “Yes, but the handkerchief is part of the game,” you explained with a grin. His eyes glittered with excitement at any hint of a game or mischief.

    “What game is that?”

    “The game is about who gets injured during a party. It’s a standing tradition since the first one of Tony’s gatherings I’d been invited to. Everyone who I have to heal gets a blue band-aid or equivalent. The team counts up the band-aids at the end of the night. The person with the most injuries owes me a present and has to clean up the mess the livingroom will inevitably become later,” you explained. “You have the first blue band-aid of the night,” you added with a grin. “You’re not allowed to attack the others!” you added quickly before he could get the idea.

    He pouted. “You’re no fun,” he grumbled. You laughed, glad he was feeling better.

    Thor made his way over a moment later. “Brother, you have not yet found a drink to your taste?” he asked jovially. He was really asking why we were standing at the bar still.

    “No, I have not,” Loki replied.

    “He also got the first injury of the night,” you told Thor with a grin, holding up Loki’s hand which still had the bright blue handkerchief around his palm. Thor boomed in laughter.

    “I may get out of cleaning up tonight after all!” he said excitedly. Loki rolled his eyes extra dramatically.

    “You’re such a clumsy oaf, I think I am safe from cleaning,” Loki replied.

    “Be kind, Brother, or I will not share,” Thor made a gesture to the bartender who pulled out a bottle of a golden liquor which looked surprisingly fancy and poured two glasses of the stuff.

    “How did you get _this_ here?” Loki asked, impressed as he accepted his glass.

    “I brought it back from my last visit home for this event,” Thor explained.

    “What is it?” you asked curiously. Loki seemed to enjoy whatever it was and had a fond reminiscing expression as he sipped on his.

    “It is Asgardian mead. Something from home I never thought I would taste again,” his voice was soft, touched that Thor had brought this back to share with him.

    “Can I have a taste?” you asked, a little hesitantly. You were only 18... Loki gave you a wary, slightly disapproving look. You rolled your eyes. “Even Cap’s not enough of a prude to deny a _taste_ ,” you reminded him. Cap was watching, even though he should’ve known you weren’t going to try to get alcohol for yourself. Loki handed you his glass.

    “A taste. Asgardian mead is delicious, but strong, especially if you are not used to it,” he warned, the explanation softening how firm he was about ‘a taste’. You saluted Cap with the glass, enjoying watching him glare and start stomping over. You took your sip and handed the glass back to Loki.

    “That is delicious,” you agreed with Loki’s assessment. It was like sweet warm honey and would be very dangerous in more than small amounts. Cap relaxed when he realized that you had just wanted a taste of the mead and went back to the WWII guys he had been hanging out with.

    You saw a familiar face in the crowd and leaned up to kiss Loki’s cheek before you went over to greet him. Unfortunately, on your way over, some drunken asshole decided to grab your ass. “Anyone here could make you happier than the asshole who tried to take over the Earth,” the guy hissed in your ear. You spun, grabbing his hand off of your ass when you did, and using a move from Nat, had his arm over your shoulder at the elbow joint, which you proceeded to kindly break for him.

    “Hands off, asshole,” you snarled at him. He yelled and whimpered in pain as you threw him over your shoulder, standing with your heeled shoe holding his neck to the floor once he was on the ground.

    “Darling, would you like assistance?” Loki asked pleasantly. He knew perfectly well that you had defended your own honor.

    “No, thanks, Loki. I think I’ve handled it,” you replied, equally pleasantly. It didn’t take long for security to come take the guy and tell him how very, very lucky he was that Loki hadn’t gutted him for that move and how he should be happy to be in jail as opposed to whatever curse Loki would have come up with for him. He went quietly rather than face Loki’s wrath.

    “You ok?” Cap asked. You nodded.

    “I can handle one creep. Nat made sure of that,” you told him with a smile. The party was getting back to normal now that the creep was taken care of.

    Loki offered you an arm to walk you over to Doctor Strange, who was the friend you had seen in the crowd in the first place. “Doctor,” you greeted him. It was strange to see him in a suit instead of his usual robes and cape.

    “Miss Y/N, Loki,” he returned the greeting. For the first time since you met him, you saw his hands, his poor, shaking, horribly damaged hands. He always wore gloves every time you visited the sanctum.

    “Doctor...” you said softly, your healer’s instincts going haywire at the sight of his hands. “May I?” you asked, and yet didn’t wait for his response before you took one of his hands in yours.

    “Healers,” he shook his head in exasperation, and apology to the guests he’d been talking to, who were now watching your antics with curiosity. You were still an unknown to most of the public. If they knew of you it was as a ward of the Avengers. Very few actually knew of your healing abilities or the rest of your magic.

    “Witchling...” Loki warned softly. He knew perfectly well how healers got when they saw an injury.

    “I know. I can’t fix all of this damage in one go, or in the short time we have right this second, but...” you drew your healing magic and without thinking about the crowd around you, used your power on his hands, the blue glow of your magic surrounding your hands as you worked. “It won’t last longer than tonight,” you told him apologetically. He still looked shocked and amazed that his hands had stopped shaking.

    “You can-?” he asked in disbelief staring in complete shock at his hands. “I’ve tried everything...”

    “Except asking the healer,” you reminded him gently. “It’ll take a lot of work, and I can’t guarantee I can get them back to 100%, not with how long it’s been since the injury, and how bad the damage was... but I should be able to help. We’ll discuss it next time I come visit?” you asked, finally realizing you were drawing too much attention to yourself.

    He nodded. “Thank you for this, even for tonight,” he said softly. You nodded and went to mingle with others before you had to admit you might’ve seen tears in his eyes.

    Tony’s voice came over the PA soon after. “I made a promise to Thor that I’d play this song for him. He threatened some very unpleasant things if I didn’t. If you don’t like the song, it’s his fault,” he announced, sounding put-upon, but you knew better.

    You smiled and walked closer to the center of the room where Thor was getting into position for the dance with Nat, moving as if you just wanted to watch. She’d agreed to dance with him, since he’d taught her the moves too. The introduction to For the Dancing and the Dreaming started and you watched Thor and Nat bow/curtsy. You saw the wistful look in Loki’s eyes. As soon as they moved, you grabbed Loki’s hands and dragged him out onto the dance floor. “Witchling, this isn’t like Earth dances-” he protested. As Thor and Nat were taking the opening position for the dance, you did too, turning to the side, offering your right forearm to Loki, almost like you were making a muscle. His eyes lit up in excitement and joy and mirrored your pose.

    The lyrics started and so did the dance, starting with slow turns, forearms together, and would speed up into more complex moves as the dance went on. Loki sang the first verse, but he sang it in Asgardian. You knew the translation, but not the original words. His voice was soft, his singing voice warm and pleasant.

    His eyes widened lit up again when you sang the reply: “And love me for eternity. My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me but I've no need for mighty deeds, when I feel your arms around me.” Thor was right, even in English the words had the intended effect of surprising and delighting Loki. You also vaguely noticed as you sang that the pendant on your necklace seemed to be producing heat in response.

    You swung and spun and laughed together through the dance, singing the lyrics you had practiced and not missing a step, even through when he lifted you by the waist and spun you around. You had been practicing this for months to surprise him and it seemed you had done well at that.

    When the song was over, there was loud applause from the crowd, which grew even louder when Loki and Thor at the same time bowed elegantly over your and Nat’s hands to kiss your knuckles.

    “And now for something American... or well at least Earthen,” Tony announced, “then we can get this party started for real!”

    A few bars of a waltz played, announcing what the dance would be before the song started properly. Loki moved to move off of the floor, assuming that you didn’t know how as other couples took up the position for the waltz. Thank goodness for Thor and Nat’s insistence you learned, Loki looked so sad that you wouldn’t be participating.

    You took Loki’s left hand in your right and placed your other hand on his shoulder and gave him a grin. He placed his other hand on your waist. “You are full of surprises this evening, witchling,” he told you with a smile. You didn’t have time to reply as the dance started. Loki was an elegant graceful dancer and a practiced lead. You went through few moves for him to verify you did actually know the dance and then you two were spinning effortlessly around the dance floor. You weren’t as skilled as he was, but he was a strong enough lead that he could compensate for your inexperience. You could see how much fun and enjoyment he was getting from the dancing and even more importantly from dancing with you. You couldn’t help noticing the envious looks from others in the room as you twirled around the room, though your attention was mostly focused on your feet and on Loki. When the song ended, he pulled you into his arms to kiss you. You wrapped your arms around his neck, gladly returning the kiss. “That was quite impressive indeed, witchling,” he said when the kiss finally ended.

    “That’s what all of those combat lessons were with Thor,” you explained as you went to take his hand so you could get off the dance floor for at least a dance, especially since party music had started and you weren’t comfortable trying to dance to party music.

    You noticed that Loki couldn’t take his gaze from your chest, which was odd for him, he usually didn’t stare. You looked down to see what he was staring at, afraid that your halter dress had come undone or something. Instead you noticed that the pendant of your necklace was sitting at your collarbones where it was plainly visible. You could’ve sworn the chain was a lot longer earlier that evening...

    Loki pulled you back into his arms, holding you tightly to him and leaning down to whisper in your ear. “Hide that. Now. Do _not_ let Thor see it,” he whispered urgently.

    “What? Why?” you asked him after you had leaned up so your lips were against his ear where he could hear your whispered reply. You hadn’t shown anyone the necklace, but it had never seemed like a big deal, it had seemed so very unimportant that no one had ever questioned it or asked to see it.

    “I’ll explain after the party. Please, darling, please trust me,”


	22. Chapter 22

     _Please trust me_ the God of Mischief, the Lord of Lies had begged. Begged. It was his tone, his worry, his insistence, his begging which had you creating an illusion spell over the pendant. You weren’t going to take it off, you never did, but the illusion would fool everyone. Thor would be able to see the illusion, but he couldn’t see through it.

    Loki breathed a sigh of relief that you had listened to him. “Thank you, witchling. I swear we will show Thor and the three of us will figure this out together after the party. We _will_ explain it then. Believe me, we do _not_ want Thor making a big deal about this now. There are too many strangers,” he added when he saw your confused expression. Whatever was going on was going to get Thor much louder than usual and probably upset.

    “I’m holding you to that, Trickster,” you warned him softly, but firmly. He inclined his head, accepting your words and you threat that there would be trouble if he didn’t keep to his word. You knew it had to be major if Loki actually wanted Thor to be in the conversation.

    For now you would let the matter go.

    For now.

    “Thank you for the wonderful surprise, darling.” Loki drastically changed the subject as you walked off of the dance floor, intending to make it to the punch bowl.

    “I’m glad you were pleased. Thor said you like dancing.”

    “Y/N, good job taking care of that creep earlier,” Nat said from behind you. She was the one who had taught you and was obviously pleased to see that her work teaching you had paid off. “I would have gone with a leg grapple myself...”

    You laughed at that. “You _always_ go for the leg grapple. I wasn’t even going to _think_ about attempting that in a dress. He shouldn’t have touched me if he didn’t want his arm broken,” you added with a grin. Nat nodded and gave you a high five before she went to go save Clint from admiring ladies.

    “Did you like your surprise, Brother?” Thor asked loudly. You sighed heavily. You were never going to make it to the punch bowl at this rate.

    “Very much so,” Loki replied, actually pleasantly to his brother for once. “It was kind of you to help my lady prepare for it.” Loki wrapped an arm around you and kissed the top of your head.

    “It was my idea...” Thor grumbled. That’s why Loki was being so pleasant. He was giving you credit for Thor’s plan. You couldn’t help giggling at their silliness. Thor gave your necklace too long of a look. “Lady Y/N?” he asked, then glared at Loki.

    “Thor, your brother is a perfect gentleman and would never hurt me. Stop glaring at him. My necklace broke and I didn’t feel like going upstairs to get a different one, so I used an illusion since only you, Loki, and maybe Doctor Strange can even see that it’s an illusion,” you lied quickly pulling a defensive tone into your voice to sell the story. Thor accepted it, thankfully. He was also distracted when Jane and Darcy arrived at the party and went to go greet them excitedly.

    “I was going to ask before we got distracted by your brother,” you said to Loki as you finally got back on track with making it back to where the punch lived. “How _did_ that creep get out of here without you cursing him, or killing him?”

    “Who is to say he did?” Loki replied pleasantly, casually.

    “What’d you do?” you asked him. You hadn’t noticed him doing anything to the creep, but you had been distracted breaking the guy’s arm.

    “He will live,” Loki answered.

    “That’s not what I asked,” you grumbled at him.

    “He hurt what is mine,” Loki protested possessively, holding you more tightly to him. You sighed. You knew about his possessive streak, but didn’t see it too often and kept... not forgetting about it, but...neglecting to keep it in the forefront of your mind. You decided it was safer to drop the subject before he got more riled.

    Clint was the next one to get injured, predictably. This time he had somehow managed to piss of the girl he was flirting with. She meant to throw her drink in his face. Unfortunately, she was drunk and managed to throw her entire glass in his face. It shattered and left cuts all over his face. So you healed him and gave him blue band-aids up his arm because you weren’t mean enough to leave them all over his face.

    Tony was next, falling off the stage and bashing his head open. He _did_ get a band-aid on his face.

    You thought Loki was going to punch Doctor Strange for asking you to dance, but he graciously stepped aside.

    It didn’t go quite so well when Thor asked you for a dance. Loki decided he was going ask Jane to dance to annoy his brother. They glared at each other the entire time. Neither of them lasted the entire dance and the partners switched halfway through, much to the amusement of yourself and Jane.

    The dancing and partying went on until almost three in the morning. Finally, the last guests were kicked out and your family and friends went back up to the livingroom for the after party.

    More alcohol was brought out and you sat around the coffee table as they all told stories of their adventures and heroics. It was then that Thor brought out rather impressive-looking flask.

    “Is that what I think it is?” Loki asked while Tony got up excitedly to get glasses. Thor nodded and evaluated those around the table.

    “Oh no, I’m not trying that stuff again,” Banner said quickly. “The big guy does _not_ like it,”

    “What is it?” you asked as Thor began pouring.

    Thor, Loki, and Cap each got a full glass of the clear liquor. Tony was only given a mouthful. He protested, loudly. Clint and Bruce weren’t given any. Nat took half a glass. “You can have more if you can survive that,” Thor told Tony firmly. “This is not a drink for mortals, it has been aged a thousand years,”

    “Yeah, we renamed this stuff Excelsior after you took out my WWII buddies with it a few gatherings ago,” Cap added. He could apparently only handle the stuff because he was a super soldier.

    “ _We_ shouldn’t even be drinking this,” Loki said from beside you a bit warily, looking at his full glass of the stuff. He seemed afraid to let his guard down.

    You laughed. “Have fun, Loki. I’m remaining sober enough for the both of us,” you reminded him. He gave you a warm smile, knowing that you were offering to take care of him if he had too much fun or got too drunk. He never got drunk. Earthen alcohol just didn’t affect the Asgardians like it did the others. “Can I have a taste?” you asked Loki. He hesitated a long, long time.

    “I don’t think that is a good idea,” he hedged. “Thor is right, this is not made for mortals,”

    “It is really not,” Thor agreed quickly.

    “Definitely not!” Cap added sternly. That was the end of that. There was no arguing with Cap.

    Tony was sloshed after his mouthful of the stuff. Thor and Loki just laughed at him as he tried to protest that he was fine to have more. He was half-unconscious already. Nat sipped on hers carefully, not nearly as dumb as Tony.

    You found out why Loki had been wary of the stuff. His silver tongue turned to lead when he was drunk. Unfortunately, he hid it well before it was much too late. Thor laughed when they were on their third glasses and he realized how very drunk Loki was. Loki was telling a story from their childhood, something you saw from Thor’s expression that he shouldn’t be sharing, most likely a secret or something that would get them both in trouble. “Loki, maybe we should get you to bed while you can still walk there yourself,” you suggested pleasantly. Everyone else was mostly unconscious, especially Clint who had stolen some of the of the stuff when Thor wasn’t looking and Tony who had finally convinced Thor he could handle more.

    “But darling~ I haven’t finished my story~” he pouted and pulled you in to a hug which pulled you into his lap. He was also apparently a lot more openly affectionate when he was drunk.

    “I don’t think your brother wants you telling that story,” you told him gently. “C’mon silly Trickster. Off to bed,” you told him. It was nearly dawn. You all needed sleep.

    He held out his glass of the alcohol to you. “You should try some of this.” You sighed.

    “It’s not for mortals, remember?” You took the glass and set it on the table. You hadn’t expected him to be this difficult when you told him to have fun. He would be like herding cats to get him to bed. You told yourself to not let him get drunk anymore.

    “You’re not mortal,” he protested.

    “Yes, I am. Little Earthen witchling, remember?”

    “Half-Asgardian,” he corrected, almost lucidly. “More if your necklace is right,”

    “What necklace?” Thor demanded. He was still the most sober one in the room besides you. You sighed and cursed yourself for not getting Loki to bed earlier. You hadn’t known he was incapable of lying or keeping things to himself while he was drunk. Or that he would get drunk. Or that he would get _this_ drunk.

    You removed the illusion from your necklace so Thor could see it. “This one,” you told him, holding out the chain so Thor could see the pendent.

    He just stared at it for a full minute in disbelief and flat-out shock, just as Loki had done earlier. He then blurted to Loki in the loudest boomiest voice you had ever heard from him:

    “THAT IS YOUR BETROTHED'S NECKLACE!”


	23. Chapter 23

    “WHAT?” you demanded just as loudly as the rest of the room. Unfortunately, everyone just stared in shocked, drunken, confusion. They were all way too plastered to process the information, much less have this conversation tonight.

    You glared at them all for being dumb enough to get this drunk. It was nearly dawn, and you were grumpy without sleep, especially when you had to be the grownup for all these adults, and Tony. “I’ve got to get you all to bed so you can sleep off that shit and we can have a coherent conversation about _that_ bombshell in the morning,” you grumbled at them.

    “Language,” Cap slurred. You knew it was bad when Cap was drunk enough to slur. What was in that stuff Thor had given them?

    You calmly raised your middle finger at Cap, who just looked even more shocked and appalled at your actions. Clint just erupted into giggles. “Can it, Cap,” you snarled at him. You were _really_ grumpy without sleep and having to herd a group of drunken cats. You stood from Loki’s lap and scowled when he tried to pull you back there. “You all officially lose the blue band-aid contest.” you informed them as you raised your hands in front of you, calling the magic you’d need for your drunken cat herding. It probably wasn’t the most ethical method of getting them to bed, but it was the most effective way of getting them all there safely and quickly. “I’m calling it, guys, bed for everyone,” they all whined, but it was too late. You looked at Thor and Loki. “We _will_ discuss this in the morning,” you told them firmly. With that, you unleashed the spell you had cast. A moment later, everyone, besides Loki, was in their beds asleep. The sleep was easy, it was part of a healer’s arsenal. Putting everyone to bed was more tricky, but you managed. You had to take a moment to catch your breath. It had taken quite a bit of magic all at once to cast that spell.

    You walked over to the whiteboard currently set up in the living room. It currently held the tally marks of everyone’s injuries for the evening. You erased the board and wrote instead:

     _Everyone lost tonight for the offense of getting so drunk the healer had to teleport you to your beds. Pissing off the healer was a terrible idea. So you ALL lose._

     _Pay up_

     _Y/N_

    After you wrote your note you went back to the couch and your very drunk boyfriend. “Come along, love. Time for bed,” you bid him gently. You’d promised to take care of him, so he didn’t get sent to bed like the others. You somehow got him hauled to his feet, one of his arms over your shoulders and your arms around his waist to keep him standing. You teleported the two of you up to his room, even through his shielding, glad his shields didn’t even hesitate at letting you in anymore. Somehow you managed to walk him to his bed and get him sitting in it. It wasn’t easy.

    It was even more difficult to figure out how to get him out of his shoes. He kept wanting kisses instead of helping you. Finally, you remembered that you were a witch and had the handy clothes changing spell. It was more difficult to use on someone other than yourself, but you somehow, somehow with lots of herding and promises of kisses got him in pajamas in the bed and agreeing to stay there for longer than thirty seconds.

    You swore to yourself never to let him get this drunk again.

    He grabbed your hand when you went to leave the room. “Stay with me?” he asked all small and pathetically.

    You sighed, exasperated and grumpy, but gave him a smile anyway. “If I stay, will you finally go the fuck to sleep?” you asked him. He giggled at your curse word and you were tempted to read him that book just to hear more of his giggles. He nodded. “Fine, I’ll stay.” You didn’t feel like using more magic when you were sober enough to dress yourself, so you stole a pair of pajama pants and one of his shirts from his dresser to wear to bed, keeping your back to him while you changed. Once changed, you crawled into the bed with him. He curled himself around you, protectively acting the big spoon, even though he was too drunk to use his magic, much less protect either of you.

    *

    It was nearly noon before anyone in the compound woke. “Miss Y/N, the team would like for you to come downstairs,” Jarvis’ voice broke through the last of your sleep. He sounded almost afraid of your answer. You groaned and sat up, though you had to move Loki’s arm to do so. He looked like hell when his eyes cracked open. They were bloodshot. He groaned and tried to cover his head with a pillow. You laughed and he groaned more at the sound of your laugh.

    “I’ll be down soon, J,” you told Jarvis. “I _should_ leave you like this,” you teased Loki, not above tormenting him for getting in this state. He whimpered and you took pity on him. “C’mere,” you bid him softly, gently. You touched his temple, your hand surrounded by the blue glow of your magic. He finally relaxed when you got rid of his hangover for him. You brushed his hair back from his face. “Better?” you asked him gently. He nodded weakly.

    “Remind me never to do that again,” he groaned.

    “Duly noted,” you replied dryly. “I’m not intending on letting any of you drink that stuff again,” you grumbled.

    “What happened last night?” Loki asked, worried, confused, and still not seeming up to full strength. 

    “Besides you getting drunk off your ass? What to you remember?”

    “The last thing is Thor bringing out that flask...” he then looked so horrified and concerned, and stared at you in his bed, wearing his clothes. “I didn’t- we-” he couldn’t form the words, couldn't complete the thought that was so abhorrent to him, that he might have done something without your consent. 

    You shook your head quickly. “No. Nothing happened besides sleep,” you told him quickly. He sighed in relief.

    “Not that I would not be interested, of course, but that would not be the way...” he glanced at your necklace, which was suddenly no longer shy now that everyone had seen it, and looked away from it quickly, an almost unreadable expression of hurt? betrayal? fear? anger? on his face at the sight of it. You grabbed it and shoved it back under your borrowed shirt.

    “No, that would not have been the way,” you agreed with him. “Let’s see, you and everyone else got super stupidly drunk. You apparently have no filter and a lead tongue when you’re drunk and told the whole group about my necklace and how you think it means I’m full Asgardian. And then your idiot brother shouted that it was your betrothed’s necklace.  You and Thor will be explaining that tidbit shortly.  The conversation ended there, because you were all too drunk to function, so I got everyone to bed,” you explained quickly. Loki looked more and more horrified during your explanation and you could see the fog clearing in his mind as your words sparked his memory.

    “That...did not go as intended,” he finally said.

    “No. It didn’t. So now we’re going downstairs where we’ll hopefully find your brother and we can get this whole mess sorted out and the two of you will be giving some explanations,” you told him firmly.  You didn't like secrets and tricks when you were the one involved and potentially hurt by them.

    “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-” he started. You shook his apology away.

    “You’re allowed to have fun too, and none of this is your fault-”

    “Miss Y/N. Mr. Stark is pathetically begging,” Jarvis announced again, interrupting your conversation. He sounded worried.  You sighed heavily.

    “Coming, J,” you called. “We need to get downstairs,” you told Loki as you got to your feet. You made sure he was coming with you before you would leave the room. He wasn’t getting out of this conversation. He was still looking sheepish, so you grabbed his hand to make sure he followed you.

    When you made it downstairs, you found a bunch of pathetic looking Avengers waiting for you, plus a Thor who was happily eating poptarts and drinking coffee. The rest looked even worse than Loki had when he woke up.  “What have we learned about drinking whatever that shit was that Thor gave you?” you asked the pathetic group.

    “That it was fun,” Tony growled, barely looking up from the couch he had collapsed facedown onto.

    “Guess you don’t want a hangover cure,” you replied pleasantly.

    “That you are the most beautiful wonderful healer ever and we will never do something so stupid again,” Clint said quickly. You went over to him and started with him on your round around the room healing the hangovers.

    “You ok, Thor?” you asked once he and Tony were the last ones left. He nodded, his mouth too full of poptarts to answer.

    “Your present will be here later today,” Tony finally said when you had healed everyone else. “I’m covering the present for all of the losers,” he added, glancing at the board which still had your note on it.

    “Better be something good for how much work it took to get all of you safely to your beds last night,” you grumbled, but healed him too. You sat on the couch with Loki, but not curled up next to him, just far enough away that you could easily talk to him and Thor.

    “You two are betrothed?” Nat asked, like she wasn’t quite sure she was remembering that conversation correctly. The rest of the group stared in half-remembered shock.

    “Lady Y/N, we can have this conversation elsewhere,” Thor said gently, offering to have the conversation more privately.  It wouldn't help and you knew it.  Either Jarvis would spy for Tony, or they'd just demand all the answers later anyway.

    “It doesn’t matter where we have it, just that we have it. They’re family, and they already know there’s something going on. They’ll find out the rest eventually, we might as well all find it out together. I need an explanation, Thor, Loki,” you told them firmly. 

    “Then let us tell you what we know happened and we will piece the rest together from there,” Loki said gently, nervously. He was scared, actually afraid for the first time since you’d known him. You weren’t quite sure what he was afraid of... afraid of your anger, of your hurt, your rejection for whatever this story was going to be.

    “Loki, just tell me,” you bid him softly. You trusted and loved him, wasn’t that enough, no matter what had happened in the past?

    He took a breath. You saw him steel himself before he began the tale.


	24. Chapter 24

    “Brother, if you do not tell the tale, then I will,” Thor threatened when Loki took too long to begin. Thor’s voice was gentle, but the threat was there.

    “I know,” Loki grumbled. “It is not an easy story. I do not like it told and I hate telling it more,” he added sourly. “So forgive me if it takes longer than your delicate sensibilities would like for me to begin the tale. It is a painful memory for me, brother.” Loki’s voice was hostile, hurt, defensive. You reached out and took his hand, reassuring, gentle, kind, a reminder that you were here for him and loved him. He gave you a small smile, though it took effort, and raised your hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss on your knuckles. He kept his attention on you, pretending he was speaking only to you, ignoring the rest of the room as he spoke:

    “It was nearly twenty years ago, before I was told of my true parentage, well before the events in New York, when Freya announced that she was with child. The All-father wanted a stronger alliance with Freya’s family, especially as they were some of the strongest sorcerers in the realm. When the prophets stated that the child would be female, the idea arose among both families for a marriage to be arranged-”

    “A grown man was supposed to marry a baby?!” Tony blurted, horrified. He was immediately tackled to the ground by Nat, who proceeded to sit on his chest with her hand clamped firmly over his mouth to keep him from interrupting again. Clint calmly sat on Tony’s legs to keep him from struggling too much. Everyone else attempted to ignore the outburst.

    “The arrangement was made then, yes. We would not have been married until she was of age, we would not have even met until then. We live for thousands and thousands of years, waiting twenty or so to meet would not have been a hardship,” Loki replied grumpily before turning his attention back solely to you, trying to ignore the rest of the room. “It was agreed by both side that between Thor and I, I was the more suitable match, since we would both be sorcerers.” He hesitated and you saw the pained look in his eyes, the look of terrible, heart wrenching sorrow.

    “I was reluctant to agree to the union. I did not want to be forced into a marriage for thousands of years purely for political reasons. It was Mother who finally convinced me to agree to it. She has the ability to see the future, though she does not advertise it or use it often. It pains her to use that gift, especially on purpose. She used it for me then. She promised me that the union would not be purely political, but full of love and joy and that my bride would love me, not just my station, or my family and connections, nor wanting Thor instead, or any of the other thousand of fears I had then,”

    It was strange to hear Loki speak so openly about his emotions or his past especially in front of the others. His attention was on you and he was so focused on keeping his word, telling you the story in it’s entirety and truthfully, that he wasn’t guarding his words as well as he usually did, especially in front of the group, especially in front of Thor.

    “The arrangements were made, the contracts were signed, and shortly before Freya was due to give birth, she and her husband left the court to go live with her family in another city until her daughter came of age and could be presented to the court.

    They never made it to her family. The entire realm searched for any trace of them for what felt like ages before Iwaldi, Freya’s husband, was found dead. The best we ever determined was Iwaldi was attacked by bandits. Freya was never found. She was presumed dead,” Loki’s voice was sad and haunted and he held your hand tighter.

    “We all mourned their loss, but Loki mourned more than the rest of us,” Thor added softly. “I did not know that Mother looked into the future for you,” he added gently. Loki nodded brusquely, apparently remembering that Thor was there. You wrapped your arms around Loki, and was surprised that he actually let you, that he rested his head on your shoulder, accepting the comfort. He never would have before, not in front of all of these witnesses.

    “I’m sorry, love,” you told him softly.

    He straightened after a moment, seeming to steel himself to tell the rest. Instead of opening his mouth right away, he summoned a small wooden box, the kind that might have held cuff-links or watches. He opened it and from among the trinkets inside, lifted out a silver pendant on a chain, identical in every way to the one around your neck.

    “You still have it? After all this time?” Thor demanded, staring in shock.

    “Always,” Loki answered softly. “I would have kept it for all of my days,” he turned in... some combination of anger and pain to Thor. “I _mourned_ , Thor. I have mourned for _years_ the loss of the love I was promised, the love I thought I would _never_ have, that I would _never_ find again!” You touched Loki’s hand, drawing his attention back to you as your fingers went to the pendant he held.

    His expression softened when he looked away from Thor and back to you. “The pendant has the... you would call it ‘coat of arms’ for each family on either side, a physical symbol of the promised bond. Mine was given to me when the contract was signed. Hers would have been given to her on the day she was born, never to be removed by either,”

    You just stared at the pendants, finally figuring out what he was saying, where this story was going. “You two think I’m-?”

    “Her name was to be Sigyn,” Thor supplied softly.

    “And you think I’m her?” you asked, shocked and confused. “How would that even be possible?”

    “There are other ways between the realms than the Bifrost,” Loki said. “Freya may have found one before her attackers could kill her...” he surmised.

    “We have to return to Asgard, take Lady Y/N before Father to be sure,” Thor said, as if this were a reminder. Loki hesitated before he nodded.

    “I hate it when you’re right,” Loki grumbled.

    “Wait? What? We’re going to Asgard?” you demanded. This was all going too quickly. You had just found out you were probably Asgardian, entirely Asgardian, and somehow betrothed to Loki. It was way too much all at once. They both nodded.

    “We need answers and the only place we can find them is Asgard,” Loki explained softly. He vanished the wooden trinket box, but kept his necklace. You didn’t see him put it on, but you had a feeling that was exactly what he did.

    “Get dressed quickly,” Thor ordered. “We leave as soon as possible,”

    Tony was making muffled noises under Nat’s weight, but none of the group tried to stop you. You and Loki both used magic to change your clothes. Loki was in his Asgardian green and black battle leathers, minus the golden helmet. You hadn’t seen him wear them since the shooting at the school. He rarely wore Asgardian clothes here. Thor summoned Mjolnir and after a flash of lightning, he was dressed in his armor as well.

    “I feel underdressed,” you grumbled, looking at your jeans. Loki laughed and summoned a blue gown of a material you’d never seen on Earth.

    “Try this,” he replied with a soft smile. You took the bundle of cloth from him and used magic to put it on. The boys were in a hurry. It was a floor length gown of flowing soft material. It was gorgeous, but like nothing on Earth. “Just like an Asgardian lady,” Loki said warmly and lifted your hand to kiss your knuckles.

    “Come, we cannot open the Bifrost in here,” Thor boomed.

    You soon found yourself outside of the tower with the two Asgardians. Loki wrapped an arm tightly around you. “Hold on tight, darling. Travelling by Bifrost is an...experience.” You obediently wrapped your arms around him, still dazed by everything that was going on.

    Thor raised Mjolnir. “Heimdall, open the Bifrost!” he called into the sky as people nearby started taking pictures and videos of the scene.


	25. Chapter 25

    Travelling by Bifrost was definitely an experience. You clutched tighter to Loki as the three of you flew up the rainbow bridge. He chuckled softly at your reaction as you watched the swirl of colors around you, unsettled by the feeling of flying. You appeared in a giant round room in front of a hulking man with golden eyes and a huge sword.

    “Welcome to Asgard,” the man said to the three of you with a hint of a smile on his stern face.

    “Thank you, Heimdall,” Thor replied. “We do not have a lot of time,” he continued. You didn’t know why there was a time limit. You were still dazed by the trip in the Bifrost and all of the news about your life you had just learned.

    “I have done as you wished,” Heimdall replied. You were suddenly grateful for your mythology paper. At least you knew who Heimdall was. You let go of Loki, looking around the strange room on the strange world in wonder.

    A woman in armor with long brown hair entered the room, carrying a bundle of cloth. “Thor, I brought this like Heimdall asked. Are you trying to sneak your mortal into Asgard again?” she teased in a friendly familiar manner. Her eyes widened when she saw Loki. The next instant she was standing in front of him with either a very large dagger or a small sword held to his throat.

    You moved in the next instant, shoving Loki a step back, putting yourself between him and his attacker as you deflected her dagger with one of your own. A bolt of magic was held ready in your other hand.

    “Why is he here?” she demanded of Thor, allowing the stalemate between you, your daggers locked. “Thor, you know he is not to be in Asgard!”

    “Circumstances have changed, Lady Sif,” Thor replied calmly, stepping forward to try to diffuse the situation. Loki wrapped his arms around you from behind, pinning your arms to your sides as he stepped backwards, bringing you with him, away from his attacker. “I did not call you here to attack Loki or his lady. We need your help Sif,”

    “It’s good to see you too, Sif,” Loki said dryly, holding you against his chest with one arm while he took your dagger from you and vanishing it before you could cause more trouble. “Witchling, please don’t attack Sif on my account. Sif, kindly put the dagger away, you’ve riled up the healer enough,” Loki said pleasantly. Sif hesitated. “Even _I_ am not chaotic enough to do anything that would put my lady in danger, no matter how fun the action might seem,”

    “She doesn’t act like a healer,” Sif commented as she put her dagger away. You could finally relax when she did.

    “She acts as any Asgardian Lady when her beloved is threatened. On a normal day...” Loki shrugged. You looked up at him grumpily.

    “I’m in the room and can hear you,” you reminded him sourly. He chuckled.

    “And so you will hear that on most days you are an incorrigible healer with no sense of self-preservation, my darling little witchling,” he replied with a grin. You stuck your tongue out at him in reply.

    “Loki. Y/N. Time is short. There is much to do before Father finds out we’re here,” Thor said, more exasperated than actually angry. Sif picked up the bundle of cloth she’d been carrying. She’d dropped it when she pulled the dagger on Loki. Loki looked upset the moment Thor mentioned Odin.

    “Where are you sneaking _this_ mortal to?” Sif asked Thor.

    “To get her ready for court, so we can present her to Father. If Loki and I are correct, she is no mortal, Sif.” Sif just stared at you then.

    “If that is true, then you are right. Time is short.” She pressed the bundle into your hands. “Put that on, so we can sneak you into the palace,” she told you firmly. You unfolded the bundle of cloth and found it to be a hooded cloak. You slipped it on, pulling the hood up as well. You were surprised Loki hadn’t helped, he was usually so courteous, but when you looked at him, there was an edge of hardness to his carefully controlled expression.

    “Loki?” you asked him softly. Something was wrong. It was almost like being here had put him on edge, changed him somehow into someone he wasn’t usually. He shook his head. You weren’t going to get answers from him.

    The four of you made your way from the room to find three horses waiting for you. You hesitated. “Y/N, do you know how to ride?” Thor asked when he saw your horrified expression.

    You shook your head firmly. “I’ve never even been this close to a horse,” you replied. Thor chuckled.

    “You can ride with me,” Loki said stiffly. You nodded, still worried over his sudden change in behavior. Thor looked worried too.

    “Are you sure I can’t just teleport there?” you asked, nearly whining, scared of the giant animals.

    “That is not a good idea, Y/N,” Thor said gently. “We do not want to announce our presence.” You sighed and moved to one of the horses with Loki. He swung gracefully into the saddle. You glared at the horse, wondering how you’d managed to get yourself in this situation. Thor lifted you by the waist and passed you up to Loki, who settled you across his lap, cradled against him. At least he wasn’t going to let you fall off the horse, even in whatever mood he was in. You couldn’t actually _ride_ the horse because you were in a dress. This was getting even better...

    At least the trip to the palace wasn’t long. The four of you snuck in with the help of Thor’s other friends, the warriors three. They distracted everyone who might’ve seen you.

    You spent some time in Sif’s chambers with her. She might’ve been a warrior and wore armor nearly all of the time, but she was also a member of the court and knew everything about it. She did your hair and makeup while she explained the basics of the court and what you were getting yourself into. She hesitated when she saw your necklace. The damn thing was really not shy anymore now that Loki had seen it. “No wonder they’re bent out of shape,” she commented when she saw it.

    “Yeah, apparently it’s a big deal,” you grumbled, just wanting to go home with Loki. You weren’t even sure you cared about answers. You just wanted him back to normal and to go back to your life and family.

    “Sif, we are out of time,” Thor’s voice came from outside of her chambers. They must’ve been spotted.

    “Don’t try to hide that,” Sif told you before you could shove the necklace back under your dress.

    You felt even less like yourself dressed in Asgardian clothes as the four of you walked up to the throne room. You were nervous to be presented to Odin and Frigga. Loki wouldn’t even look at you and you felt so alone in this giant palace. You wished he would just tell you what was wrong. You caught up to him and touched his arm, concern and worry written all over your face. You saw the effort it took for him not to push you away, not to snap at you. The fact that that had been his instinct hurt, but you took your hand from his arm and took a step back, giving him the space he clearly wanted. You fought to hide your hurt from your expression. You fought harder to put a pleasant expression on your face. You couldn’t be presented to the King and Queen of Asgard looking sad, nervous, and hurt.

    You were so nervous and worried that you didn’t notice that the throne room doors had opened before the three of you. Sif had separated, she wasn’t part of this, she was going to enter the throne room through a side door to watch what happened.

    Thor and Loki led the procession into the throne room. You were tempted to just vanish then, teleport back to the Bifrost, and go home, take Loki with you and get your boyfriend back, and not this distant stranger, but you couldn’t. You needed answers and the only place to get them was in this room.

    “Welcome home, my sons,” Odin greeted Thor and Loki when they reached the steps before the throne. They bowed in acknowledgment and stepped aside to you were in view. You looked up nervously as Odin and Frigga both looked you over. The entire room gasped as Odin announced:

    “Welcome back to Asgard, Lady Sigyn Freyadotir,”


	26. Chapter 26

    “So it is true, then?” Loki asked, finally speaking. Odin and Frigga both nodded.

    “How-?” Thor started, but quickly answered his own question. “You saw the future, both of you.” Odin had supposedly traded his eye for the chance to see the future. You weren’t entirely sure which myths were true and which weren’t, but it seemed that he _had_ seen at least this much of the future.

    Odin inclined his head. “It is true. We have both seen these events. This maiden is the lost daughter of Freya, and the betrothed of Loki your prince,” Odin’s voice was loud, announcing the news to the crowd. You felt the shock around you and felt it yourself. Your entire world had been turned upside down in the matter of a few hours. It was too much to take in.

    *

    Somehow after that bombshell, the next event was a feast in your honor. You felt stupid at it. You knew nothing of their ways and culture and had to sit awkwardly next to Loki, who was sullen, distracted, and still hostile, though his court face was firmly in place so the strangers wouldn’t notice. You, Thor, and Frigga noticed, though he still wasn’t speaking to you either.

    While the feast was degrading into dancing and drinking, Loki stood to talk with Frigga nearby. You could only hear part of their conversation, though.

    “This is just another manipulation in my entire _life_ of manipulations at the All-Father’s hands,” Loki snarled, his voice a hurt, angry sound. You wanted to go to him, but you knew you weren’t welcome. You didn’t know why, but he was upset with you too. “You knew, didn’t you _Mother_ ,” he made the word into a curse. She inclined her head.

    “We knew. Loki, it was the way things were meant to play out. I saw a thousand futures, but this was the only path. I did not see that Freya would die. We still feel her loss. All I saw was that you would find your love again on Midgard,”

    “You knew where she was, that she was alive, this entire time?” he demanded. “You let me mourn? Let her grow up among those horrible humans who abused her?” Frigga looked horrified at that and glanced toward where you were pretending to be interested in the mug of mead in front of you. “Why didn’t you TELL ME?” he demanded, so lost and hurt. You jumped to your feet then and went to him, no longer caring that he didn’t want your comfort or company. He was hurting. You couldn’t just sit by and let him be hurting.

    “It was the only way you would be happy, darling,” Frigga said softly.

    You touched Loki’s arm and he whirled on you. “You knew. You were in on this too, weren’t you, just another trick, another lie of my life? Like someone could love me. No wonder you attached yourself to me the second I moved into the tower.” He snarled, harsh, angry. You could see him fighting for control of his magic. He was so hurt and angry he wasn’t thinking clearly. At all.

    “Of course not!” you replied, hurt that he would even suggest such a thing. “I had no idea until a few hours ago,” you protested, but you saw the disbelief in his eyes.

    “I am through being manipulated,” he snarled at you and Frigga and stormed from the room. You started to go after him, but Thor grabbed your arm.

    “Get off me, Thor,” you told him firmly, trying to pull your arm from his grip.

    “Loki is not safe in this mood,”

    “I can take care of myself,” you snarled at him. You had to go after Loki before he thought to teleport out of the palace. If he did, you’d never find him.

    “Y/N,” he protested.

    “Thor, don’t make me hurt you too. Let me go knock some sense into him if that’s what it takes. If he teleports, we’ll _never_ find him again,” Thor let your arm go.

    “Be careful,” he warned you. You nodded and followed Loki from the room. Once you were safely from the feast hall, you used magic to change into more comfortable clothes, jeans, a t-shirt, and your favorite sneakers, letting your hair fall from the elaborate Asgardian style and shoving the necklace under your shirt. You didn’t care that you stood out among the Asgardians dressed like you were from Earth. You needed to be able to move, and maybe fight, for this conversation. You needed to be comfortable and dressing how you normally did might remind him of who you were. He seemed to have forgotten in his haze of hurt and rage.

    You followed the trail of confused worried servants and the feel of the spikes in his magic to a room that you assumed must be his chambers. You were just grateful he hadn’t thought to teleport away from the palace. He probably hadn’t thought anyone would follow him. You slipped into the room as silently and unobtrusively as you could. He didn’t look at you. He was so used to your near constant presence in his life that he probably hadn’t even noticed you. He was pacing the room, anger and magic sparking around him, snarling and muttering to himself.

    He whirled on you when he finally noticed your presence. “Leave me be, _Lady_ ,” he snarled the last word, an insult on the title you would have here.

    “No,” you told him firmly. “We’re going to have this conversation.”

    “There is no conversation to have.”

    “There is definitely a conversation to have,” you snarled right back at him. You felt the gathering of his magic and reached out to grab his arm before he could teleport away. “We are having this conversation,” you told him firmly again when he glared at you. He couldn’t teleport away from you while you had a hand on him.

    “Unhand me,” he ordered firmly. You glared up at him in reply.

    “And have you teleport away? No thank you. I know you’re hurting because Odin and Frigga kept secrets from you. We are either going to have a conversation about this, or a fight over it, but I am _not_ letting you teleport away to be hurt and miserable by yourself because you imagined that _I_ slighted you when I have done nothing but love you,”

    He pulled a dagger and you knew that he was not only being stupid, but had lost his mind to grief and anger. Hopefully it was a temporary condition.

    “Fight it is,” you sighed. “I’m sorry about this, love, but you’re being particularly stupid and illogical. You’ll think more clearly once we’re home and away from these people who have hurt you so badly.”

    “Let go of me,” he warned again. You ignored him, plotting how to do what you needed. He swung the dagger at you, in a wide arc that you knew was meant to make you unhand him as opposed to actually hurt or hit you. He wanted to flee. He didn’t want to fight you. There was a chance of getting through to him, if you could just get him away from here. You blocked his dagger with your bare arm, only avoiding getting sliced open because he was trying to scare you into letting him go instead of harming you.

    “I’m sorry.” you said again, tears in your eyes as you betrayed his trust for his own good. “Jarvis, bind him,” you ordered the tech on Loki’s wrist. It was programmed to listen to you. Thankfully, Tony had designed it so it could work independently of the internet. It didn’t need any kind of signal from Earth at all. You saw the hurt and betrayal in his eyes when you did. “I’m sorry. Let me take you home, love. Let’s go home, get away from all of these people,” you bid him. He finally yanked his arm from your grip.

    “Leave me, before I’m forced to hurt you,”

    “Never. I’m not leaving you in pain,” you told him firmly. “I love you and want to be with you regardless of prophecies and anything that happened in this world in the past. I want you because I love you.” You saw the rage and pain in his eyes. You weren’t getting through to him. You stepped toward him slowly, carefully, gently, your hands away from your body, held open to show him you were unarmed. He swung at you again. You raised your arm to protect your core and hissed in pain as the dagger sliced into your skin. You saw his eyes widen when he saw your blood spill. He hadn’t meant to actually hurt you. He had expected you to defend yourself. He was treating this like a squabble with Thor, not a squabble with a healer. While he was distracted, you grabbed his bare arm again. “I’m sorry,” you whispered and shoved a sleep spell into him. Hard. His eyes rolled back and he crumpled. You braced him and eased him into a nearby chair. “I’m sorry, love,” you told him again, pushing his hair back from his face and kissing his forehead. “I’m sorry they hurt you so much.” You could feel the wounds on his soul that were bleeding just from being in this realm. They were bleeding more freely with the painful memories of the love he thought he had lost and the betrayal he’d felt from the lies he’d been told his entire life.

    You needed to figure out how to get him home. “I’d suggest chains,” Sif said from the doorway.

    “That seems mean,” you replied, barely giving her a glance. It was so much like a comment you’d hear from Nat back home that you hadn’t even thought about it and answered automatically.

    “You’re bleeding. He can handle a little mean for injuring you, which was completely uncalled for.” You still hesitated. You didn’t want to hurt him, even his pride. “Bind that wound and I’ll do it for you,” Sif said gently. You nodded and summoned a bandage which you wound carefully around your arm and tied it off. Sif grumbled something about healers that wasn’t flattering. You pretended you couldn’t hear her.

     You couldn’t heal yourself, only others. The wound was deep, but you knew he hadn’t meant it. You weren’t thinking that in the ‘my abuser attacked me because I deserved it’ way, but in the ‘I was dumb and poked the hurt scared animal and it bit me’ sort of way.

    When you turned your attention back to Loki and Sif, she was standing beside the chair he was in. His wrists were shackled behind him and he had chains around his chest, holding his arms to his back. She slapped a piece of tape over his mouth. “He lies,” she explained quickly with a grin. You couldn’t help laughing at that.

    “That he does. Thanks for your help, Sif,”

    “You did just fine on your own,” she replied. “You really love him,” she commented, her tone softening. You nodded.

    “He’s been my best friend since we met and my love for every moment of our courtship. He’s just scared and hurt right now. I’m sure he’ll be back to normal when I get him home,” you told her. You looked over her with a look of concern. “You won’t get in trouble for helping me, will you?” She laughed and shook her head.

    “I don’t intend on being found out, either,”

    “This is an interesting tactic for dealing with my son,” Frigga commented dryly from the doorway. You made a note to yourself to lock the door if this ever happened again. You and Sif both turned to the door. Sif bowed with a murmured ‘your majesty’.

    “This isn’t what it looks like,” you automatically started to lie. Frigga just gave you a look. You flushed sheepishly. “Ok...it might be what it looks like...” she waited overly patiently for you to continue your explanation. You saw then where Loki got quite a few of his mannerisms. “Loki’s been on edge since we stepped through the Bifrost. Ma’am,” you added quickly, attempting to pretend you could be polite. “He’s been fighting bad memories and soul wounds, which were just made worse with all of the announcements tonight. I just want to get him home. He won’t heal here,” you told her emphatically. She thought over your words, then inclined her head in the same regal way Loki did.

    “Very well. I did not find you,” she turned and strode away, seeming to trust you to take care of her son. She was lying to give you time to get out of here without Odin stopping you. You sighed in relief, grateful for her trust and acceptance. This was all the help she could give you, though.

    “Sif, you best get out of here too,” you told her.

    “You can handle him?” she asked, gesturing toward Loki. You nodded.

    “I can. Thanks for your help,” you answered.

    “I hope we meet again under better circumstances,” she said before she left too.

    When she left, you turned your attention back to the task at hand. First you scribbled out a quick note to Thor telling him what you were doing and teleported it into his hand. You couldn’t leave the realm without telling him. He’d worry.

    Then you turned your attention back to Loki. You touched his cheek, using magic to rouse him again. You watched him struggle back to wakefulness and fight against his bonds. He looked up at you and glared. “Fetterer, remember?” He’d read your paper, which had included information on Sigyn, Loki’s wife in the myths. Besides being the goddess of fidelity, she was also known as the fetterer, mostly of a certain trickster god. “We’re going home,” you informed him firmly, your hands on your hips. He continued to glare. “You have a choice. Either you can walk or be dragged.” He huffed and rolled his eyes. You grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet, though it took most of your body weight to do it. “Walk or be dragged, love,” you told him firmly, keeping hold of his arm.

    You tried to ignore that your arm was already bleeding through the bandage. He noticed it too and at least stopped trying to fight you.

    You teleported the two of you to right outside of the building with the Bifrost and started walking inside, your hand on his arm, pulling him with you. At least he walked so you didn’t have to drag him. He was still hurt and upset, but you could deal with that when you were home.

    Heimdall was still standing there with his giant sword. He looked stern, but you could see the glint of amusement in his eyes at Loki’s predicament. “Heimdall, will you open the Bifrost?” you asked politely, ignoring his questioning glance at your captive Loki.

    “Only a member of the royal family can make that request,” he answered carefully.

    You took a breath, straightened your spine, and announced to him: “I am Sigyn Freyadotir, betrothed of Loki Laufeyson, fostered son of Odin the All-father and I formally request that the Bifrost be opened to Midgard,”

    Heimdall gave you a real smile then and a polite bow. “As my lady wishes,” he replied. He did something with the sword and the Bifrost opened.

    “Thank you, Heimdall,” you replied politely.

    “Call on me if you have need,” he said as you pulled Loki to the Bifrost.

    “Come along, love. Let’s go home,” you told Loki gently and held onto him tightly as you stepped into the Bifrost.


	27. Chapter 27

    You already had an illusion in place over the two of you when you appeared back in the same spot you had vanished from earlier that afternoon. You weren’t surprised that there were people here with cameras hoping to catch a glimpse of Thor and Loki. Your illusion was of you and Loki looking exactly as you had when you left in the portal. The illusions waved and posed for pictures while you teleported Loki back into the compound. The illusion would vanish in a minute.

    You and Loki appeared in the livingroom and you cursed when you weren’t alone. The team was still there. “Um...” you greeted them, unsure. They were bound to notice that Loki was wrapped in chains.

    “What’d he do?” Tony demanded staring at the captive Loki.

    “What happened in Asgard?” Cap asked at the same time.

    You pushed Loki down onto his spot on the couch. He glared and grumbled something behind the tape. “In a minute,” you replied, assuming he was demanding to be freed. You turned your attention to Cap. “Odin confirmed Loki’s story. My real name is Sigyn Freyadotir and I am full-Asgardian,” you had yet to come to terms with that for yourself.

    “What did _he_ do?” Tony demanded again, more loudly.

    You glanced over at Loki who glared back at you.

    “Y/N, why are you bleeding?” Cap asked. Your wound was dripping through the bandage onto the floor.

    “It’s nothing,” you brushed off Cap’s concern. He gave you a look. You knew that look. It was his ‘team mom’ look. “I’ll take care of it in a little bit,” you told him, trying to sound reassuring. You don’t know if Cap actually forgot that you couldn’t heal yourself, or was just trusting you to take care of things, but he nodded, accepting your words. Loki at least had the grace to look ashamed.

    “Stop answering Steve’s questions and ignoring mine!” Tony shouted like a petulant child. “WHAT DID HE DO?”

    You sighed, not wanting to actually explain Loki’s behavior to them. You were sure he’d get over it now that he was home. “He became in need of cognitive re-calibration,” you finally answered. Neither Cap nor Tony were satisfied with that answer. You didn’t care. You went to the dining room, collected two bowls of the Russian stew Nat had made, somehow balanced them in one hand and went back to Loki. You were surprised Cap hadn’t tried to free Loki while you were gone. You touched Loki’s shoulder and teleported the two of you up to his bedroom. “Sorry, I should’ve brought you straight up here. I thought you’d like something to eat, though,” you told him sheepishly. He was sitting on his bed. You set the stew on his desk and sat in his desk chair, facing him. With a flick of your hand and a bit of power all of his bonds were gone.

    You both sat in silence for a minute. You stared at the floor, trying to figure out how to start this conversation. It needed to happen. You passed him the bowl of stew to postpone starting it for a minute longer. He looked up surprised when you did.

    “Thank you,” he murmured. Another minute passed. “Are you going to unbind my magic?” he asked softly while he ate his stew.

    “Depends, are you going to teleport out of here before we have this conversation?” you replied just as softly. “And don’t try to lie to me, Trickster,” you told him firmly. You were too exhausted to put up with that nonsense.

    “I will not,” he replied. You weighed his words, but they were the truth. You knew him well enough to spot a line. You pulled out your phone and typed in the command.

    “Verbal authorization is required, Miss,” Jarvis announced.

    “Authorized,” you replied. There was a ding in reply from the piece of tech on Loki’s wrist. You took a bite of stew, but set it aside. You couldn’t eat right now. There was too much going on, too many emotions, and too much you hadn’t been able to process yet.

    “I know you’re pissed off at Odin and Frigga. I can’t say I’m happy with them either for keeping this from both of us. They had the power to rescue me from jumping foster homes my entire life and they didn’t. They had the power to let me know I wasn’t human and they didn’t do that either. They had the power to let you know at the very least that you didn’t have to mourn and you would see me again. I know how you feel being lied to your entire life,” you started. You knew how he’d felt after finding out he was really a Jotun. He’d told you all about it one night. You knew the feeling intimately and first hand now. “But I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t know I wasn’t at all human until today. I didn’t know I wasn’t mostly human until a few months ago. You know lies when you hear them. You know I had nothing to do with any of this.”

    “I know. I’m sorry. I should not have taken out my rage at my family on you,” he finally said after a long minute. Another minute passed before he found the words he was looking for. “They manipulated us into this courtship without either of our knowledge,”

    “I don’t know how visions of the future work, but I know how much Frigga loves you. She wouldn’t have done anything that she thought would hurt you,”

    “We’re betrothed!” he countered, not seeming to understand how you weren’t grasping that concept and how very wrong this was.

    “In Asgard,” you countered. “We’re not in Asgard. We don’t have to follow their rules, or the choices they made on our behalf. Hell, I don’t even know what their rules are, nor do I care,” you added quickly before he could open his mouth and explain. It wasn’t important right now. “We have choices, Loki. All of the choices are ours to make. If you want to continue our courtship I will gladly join you in that journey. If you want me to walk out of this room and never see you again, I will accept your decision. You don’t have to do what Odin tells you anymore,” you told him. You saw him reel at that realization. You still had a feeling that you knew what his decision would be, just to prove to himself, at least for a little while, that he really didn’t have to do what Odin wanted.

    So you stood to give him more time to hopefully come to a better decision. “I need to go downstairs and get this looked at,” you indicated your arm. “Eat, you can have my bowl too. We can talk more later,” you told him softly, gently. You touched his shoulder reassuringly, but didn’t try to kiss him. He was too upset. Instead, you slipped out of his room. You closed the door behind you, only knowing that he’d still be here because he couldn’t teleport out of the tower with his powers limited, which is all the further you had authorization to unbind his powers.

    You leaned against the wall next to his room, trying to digest the last couple of days. You slid to the floor, your knees to your chest, dissolving into tears. Your entire life and existence had crumbled around you and it was too much, too fast. You had learned to cry silently through years in the foster system, and didn’t think you’d be disturbed. You and Loki were usually the only inhabitants of this floor, and you were sure Loki couldn’t hear you.

    So you were surprised when a figure appeared in front of you. You hadn’t noticed anyone in the hall. You looked up, expecting to see Loki. You weren’t terribly surprised to see Thor instead. Of course he would come to see what had happened. “He hurt you?” Thor demanded, but his voice was gentle, not his usual boom.

    “Not on purpose,” you replied, showing him your arm, which you’d neglected to do anything with while you were having your existential crisis. Thor looked between you and the door to Loki’s room for a moment, before he made a decision.

    He held his hand down to you. “Come, little sister. Let us get that arm looked at,”

    You gestured to the door. “You can go help him. He’s still feeling off from everything that happened...” You weren’t actually sure Thor would help with that. Maybe fighting it out with an adversary who would fight back would actually help.

    “You are in more immediate need,” he replied and somehow hauled you to your feet, even though you didn’t give him your hand. You realized you had lost too much blood when you leaned against him to keep your balance.

    “He’s your brother,” you protested as Thor steered you down the hall to the elevator.

    “And my presence will just upset him. You have already gentled him from when you left Asgard. Mother told me,” he added before you could ask. He kept an arm around you and steered you down to medical.

    When you got off the elevator you took exactly one step forward before a splitting pain erupted in your brain. You clutched your head shrieking in pain as your knees buckled. The pain was the only warning before visions of the future began flashing in your mind. Thor had caught you and lowered you to the ground gently as vision after vision of the future flashed before your eyes. Different possibilities for what was going to happen for different choices that could be made.

    “What did you see?” Thor asked gently, kneeling in front of you when you had finally stopped screaming.

    “The future,” you said softly.

    “You can see the future now?” Tony demanded incredulously.

    “I don’t recommend it,” you groaned, trying to piece the images you had seen in a useful combination. “I can’t-”

    “It is alright. Mother said the visions are difficult to process. Let me help you to the healing room,” Thor said softly. You managed to nod. He swept you effortlessly into his arms. He was even stronger than Loki, so you didn’t protest.

    “What the hell happened?” Nat demanded. You told them an abbreviated version of events while Thor carried you to the infirmary. Nat stitched your arm up. She was a proficient combat medic. She tutted over how deep the wound was, but said it would heal without issues and wrapped a clean bandage over the stitches.

    While she was working, you processed the images you had seen and finally figured out what path they were trying to convince you to take.

    “Thank you both,” you told them as you hopped down from the infirmary bed. “I need to get back upstairs.” Thor nodded, understanding that you wanted to get back to Loki before he did something stupid. Loki was chaotic and destructive when he was upset.

    “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked. You shook your head.

    “Let me put on the heavy gloves and gentle him some more,” you replied with a smile you didn’t feel.

    “Your eyes are bloodshot,” Nat commented, concern in her voice.

    “It is common after a vision,” Thor told her, which also reassured you. You waved to them, letting Thor explain it and slipped back to the elevator before the others could notice you and try to waylay you.

    You slipped back into Loki’s room. He hadn’t seemed to have moved, but both bowls of stew were empty. He looked up, surprised that you were back. He steeled himself to say something, but before he could, you held up a hand to stop him. “Give me your arm,” you told him, holding your hand out.

    “Your eyes- what did you see?” he asked as he stood to face you, confused and concerned. Of course he’d notice your bloodshot eyes and would know they meant you’d had a vision. You huffed and took his arm when he didn’t give it to you, the one that had Stark’s tech on his wrist. You summoned the key you had stolen from Tony and unlocked it, removing the stupid thing from his arm. “Witchling, what are you doing?” he demanded, shocked when you removed the last limit from him. You gave him a small smile when he slipped back to pet names for you. You’d be ok. You’d get over this hurdle and be ok.

    “I’ve seen the outcome of every single possible choice that can be made by us tonight,” you finally told him. “So I’m doing the right thing. I’m giving you the freedom to make your own choices. That is my decision this evening,” you added softly. It was the only decision you could make. “I love you, Loki. You’ve been my best friend since we met and I’ve loved you every moment of our courtship, but I’m not going to force you to stay.”

    You had seen a thousand futures. You knew which one he would choose. Still, you gave him the freedom to choose it.

    “I love you too, witchling,” he finally said, too softly, too carefully. He hesitated a long moment longer, but the decision had already been made. “But I need time. I need space to figure all of this out...”

    You nodded. “I know. Try not to take too long, ok?” you asked him softly fighting back the tears that came unbidden to your eyes.

        He pulled you into his arms and kissed you thoroughly and deeply. You melted into the kiss, even though it was a kiss goodbye. For now. “I promise,” he replied gently. “Be well while I am away,” he bid you softly.

    “I will,” you promised him.

    Moments later he was gone in a flash of green light.

    If it was the right decision, why did you feel like bawling your eyes out into a bowl of ice cream?


	28. Chapter 28

    You spent the entirety of the next day getting your ass chewed for letting Loki go. He was still a war criminal and was only not in jail because of Stark’s tech and his work with the team. The only person who didn’t yell was Thor. He knew what you did and why.

    You listened to Cap’s and Tony’s tirade in silence, accepting the lecture for your decision.

    “Y/N, why did you do this?” Cap finally asked, gentling his tone when you hadn’t responded at all to his massive lecture. He was going into ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ mode.

    You looked up at him with angry determination in your eyes. “It was the right thing to do,” you told him firmly. “Rules be damned, it was the right thing to do, Cap. Keeping him prisoner here wasn’t right. He’s done nothing except help the team since he’s been here,”

    “Until yesterday when you brought him home in chains,” Tony reminded you.

    “That was the right decision too. Getting him away from the people who hurt him and messed with his mind was the right thing to do despite how I had to go about it,” you answered more softly. Your instinct was still not to argue for fear of being kicked from another family.

    “And now he’s gone! Doing who knows what!” Tony shouted. You looked down at your lap, prepared to let him get back to his tirade. They’d already been going at you for hours.

    “Enough!” Thor stepped in front of you, pushing Tony and Cap back from where they had been standing over you, yelling. He turned to you then and knelt in front of your interrogation chair so he was at eye-level with you. “You saw the future yesterday, little sister. Was this the future you saw?” he asked gently. You were going to have to ask him why he’d changed his term of address for you, but that was a problem for a different day.

    “I saw all of the possible futures surrounding the outcome of our trip to Asgard,” you told him softly.

    He nodded. “And this was the best path?” He had gentled his voice even more. You hesitated, you couldn’t explain what you’d seen. “You do not have to say what you saw.” He must’ve seen that particular hesitation before, probably from Frigga. “Just answer this: was this the best choice for everyone, based on what you saw?”

    “It was,” you answered softly with a nod to cement your words.

    Thor nodded once, stood, and pulled you to your feet. “Return to your chambers. I will deal with the others. They will not turn you out over this, put that thought from your mind,” he added when you hesitated. He knew you too well.

    “Thank you,” you told Thor, grateful that he was saving you. You ran for the safety of your suite before Cap and Tony could get past Thor to try to stop you.

    Thor came up with dinner for you awhile later while you were sharpening daggers in your living room. He knocked politely on the door to your suite and you felt bad for answering with a dagger in your hand. You vanished the dagger back to stack on the coffee table sheepishly when you realized who it was. “Sorry,” you murmured and stepped back from the door to let him in.

    “I brought you dinner,”

    “Thanks,” you replied, taking the plate from him.

    “I have convinced them that this was the best decision. I would still recommend spending the evening away from them. They are still upset. They are going to try to hide Loki’s absence from SHIELD for as long as they can. Let us hope he returns before SHIELD finds out,”

    “I hope so too,” you told him. “Thank you for helping me. You didn’t have to, especially since I _did_ let Loki ‘escape’,”

    “Will he choose to return?” Thor asked gently. You wouldn’t have told him about the future. You knew instinctively not to overshare what you’d seen, but this was about his brother. He deserved answers. He had also vouched for you because of the visions. He really deserved answers.

    You looked up at him, letting him see the tears in your eyes. “I hope so. My decision was still right, Thor, even if it hurts now. This was the only path that could possibly lead to him choosing to come back to us. The only path where he could be happy,”

    Thor pulled you into his arms and let you cry. “I will kick his ass for hurting you when he gets back,” Thor promised. It was such a silly normal thing that it made you laugh and halted your tears. “He loves you. When he gets that through his thick skull, he will return,”

    “Thanks, Thor,” you told him softly as you stepped out of his arms.

    “Call me if you need anything, little sister,” he bid, placing a kiss on your forehead.

    “Where did ‘little sister’ come from all of a sudden?” you asked him with a smile. You didn’t mind, but just wanted to know.

    “You are betrothed to my little brother, Lady Sigyn,” he replied with a fond smile. You laughed.

    “So I am...apparently. Maybe I should take Sigyn as my superhero name, and convince Stark to make me armor like Sif’s...” you mused. “Once he stops being mad at me for making the right decision. Guess I’m going to have to make my own armor,” you sighed heavily. After the day you had, you didn’t think they were ever going to get over what you did.

    “They have already forgiven you. They are your family,”

    *

    You snuck down to the kitchen the next morning, hoping you were early enough to beat anyone else there. You had no such luck. Nat never slept and was in the living room watching the news while she cleaned her guns. You tried to slip past without her noticing, but that effort was doomed to fail. “I’m not mad at you. Unlike the boys, I have some brains,” she said pleasantly before you made it past the living room.

    “You’re not?” you asked incredulously. You figured everyone was pissed. You understood their feelings, even if they were wrong. She shook her head.

    “Before I worked for SHIELD, I made a name for myself using my skills for anyone, without care of the consequences. Fury sent Barton to kill me when I got on SHIELD’s bad side. He made a different call and now here we are. Point is, I know first hand how those different calls go. You made one for Loki. I know you well enough to know you didn’t make that call without good reason, just as Barton hadn’t. Cap and Tony will cool down soon.”

    “Thanks, Nat,” was all you could say. She nodded and went back to her guns. “Have you eaten?” you asked. She hadn’t, so you made breakfast for both of you. You set her plate on the table in front of her and sat on your usual spot on the couch to eat yours. You looked over to Loki automatically, but remembered that he wasn’t there. You hoped he’d be back soon. You had forgotten how lonely it was around here without him. Especially since almost everyone was mad at you.

    “If anyone asks, or cares, I’m going to see Doctor Strange,” you told Nat after you’d finished breakfast and cleaned up the dishes. She nodded absently, looking over something she obviously didn’t like on her gun.

    You teleported to the front step of the sanctum and opened the door. “Doctor?” you asked when you walked inside. You hadn’t actually checked to make sure he was here, but if he wasn’t, you could bother Wong in the library until he returned. You weren’t surprised when a golden portal appeared in front of you.

    “Through here,” Doctor Strange called on the other side of the portal. You stepped through the portal and ended up in his office. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours?” he asked. He still didn’t trust Loki, but appreciated Loki’s knowledge of magic. He also wanted Loki to _not_ be alone in the sanctum.

    “Off on a mission,” you told him, trying to sound like nothing was wrong on that front. You were a practiced liar, and you weren’t even lying. Loki was off on a mission to find himself and hopefully come to the right decisions about his life.

    You sat in the chair on the other side of his desk and weren’t surprised when a cup of tea appeared in your hand. “To what do I owe the honor?” he asked.

    You smiled at him. “Well, I have an update for you, plus it’s a good day to get started on your hands, if you have time...” He inclined his head.

    “I will always have time for that project,” he replied dryly, making you laugh. “But why is today a particularly good day?”

    “So apparently I’m full Asgardian...” you started and took a little too much pleasure from his shock.

    “I thought you were human?”

    “So did I until a few months ago when Loki told me I had to be half because my magic was so strong. We found out yesterday that I’m actually full Asgardian,” you briefly gave him your real name and the essentials of the story. “Anyway, the reason why today is a particularly auspicious day is one that if I tell you, you must _swear_ to keep a secret,” you told him firmly.

    “I will not betray your trust,” he answered calmly and sipped on his tea.

    “Asgardian women lose their magic for a few days every month. Tomorrow I won’t have my powers, so today is a good day to get started,” you explained as succinctly as possible. He opened his mouth to ask questions, but obviously thought better of it.

    “What do you need from me?” he asked instead. You smiled and set your tea down.

    “I just need to see your hands,” He took his gloves off and laid them aside, placing his hands in the middle of the desk where you could see them. You looked over them, using a light touch and a tiny bit of power to see how bad the damage was. “Get comfortable, this is going to take awhile,” you told him as you called up your healing gift. He resettled in the chair and you got to work. You noticed that there was an astral projection of him nearby, reading a book, and keeping guard. You appreciated the thoughtfulness of making sure you knew you were protected and safe here.

    It was hours of work later when you felt your power flickering. You were out of power for the day. It took effort to break yourself away from an unfinished healing, but you somehow managed to break the connection, pulling your hands away from his sharply. “Sorry, it’ll probably take a few more months to finish the healing,” you told him sheepishly.

    He shook his head. “Thank you for helping. They already feel much better,” he answered as he put his gloves back on.

    You stayed and talked with him for awhile longer and he gave you a couple of sorcery texts to take with you. “Mind giving me a lift home?” you asked. You hated asking, but your power levels were too drained to teleport across town.

    “Of course,” he replied, obviously understanding that the reason you were low on power was because you’d spent it healing him. With a circle of his hands, a portal appeared in the room.

    “Thanks! I’ll stop by again soon!” you told him before you stepped through the portal. He liked your presence, even if he disliked Loki.

    *

    The next morning you woke in pain and afraid. You automatically reached for a dagger; you had them spread all around your suite right now. These next few days were going to be hell. You hadn’t made an alternative plan since Loki wasn’t here. Maybe you should’ve stayed at the sanctum. At least most everyone there wasn’t mad at you, but that would’ve involved telling Strange about Loki’s disappearance and then he would’ve been mad at you too. So you were alone without your powers in a tower full of people who currently hated you.

    Great.

    Something caught your attention on your nightstand. You looked over at it confused. You hadn’t remembered putting anything there last night. You smiled when you saw what it was: a teapot that was steaming, a cup of tea that had already been poured, a collection of tea bags, plenty for the next few days, and a note.

    You picked up the note and read it, recognizing the elegant script immediately.

     _My Sigyn,_

     _I have shielded your suite. You are safe even though I cannot be there with you._

     _Feel better, my darling witchling._

     _~Loki_

    You grinned too brightly at the note and sipped your tea, recognizing his healing brew the second you tasted it. He would come back. He still cared for and loved you.

    He needed a little more time, but he would come back.


	29. Chapter 29

    There was a knock on your suite’s door later that morning. You went to answer it with a dagger that could nearly be classified as a sword. Thor was standing on the other side of the door with a huge tray of breakfast. “Good morning, little sister,” he greeted you brightly, ignoring the death glare you gave him and the giant dagger you were holding. He swept passed you into the room and set the tray on your coffee table. Dammit, he knew you wouldn’t stab him just for entering your room. “I’m sorry I cannot brew healing tea, but Lady Natasha said these pills work,” he indicated the meds in a little cup on the tray.

    You gave him a real smile then. “Loki sent me tea,” you told him with too bright of a grin. That tea and note had made you extremely hopeful.

    “He is back?” Thor demanded excitedly.

    “Not yet,” you replied, your grin slipping slightly. You slipped into your bedroom and got the note Loki had sent you. You handed it to Thor and let him read it. “He’ll be back,” you told Thor when he handed the note back to you.

    “Yes, I believe you are correct.” Thor ate breakfast with you, keeping you company without being obtrusive. He eventually left you to hole up in your room in bed with a book. He made sure you knew he would be around to keep you company if you needed or wanted him to.

    *

    Tony and Cap thawed out by the time you had your powers back. It helped that Loki hadn’t done anything to upset anyone while he was away. They seemed to finally trust your judgment over the matter, finally.

    You finished up the last of your classes and exams. You missed Loki terribly, but kept up with your life. There was a press conference to announce that you were an official member of the team. You went dressed in armor identical to Sif’s, except the skirt and accents were blue instead of red. You had decided to take the name Sigyn as your superhero alias. You’d never get used to hearing the name unless people called you by it and if the media did, you figured you’d get used to it faster. You had a feeling you would be visiting Asgard again soon and had to get used to your identity there. It was still too much and you weren’t sure you were ok having two identities that were supposed to actually be you, but you got some advice on it from Nat, who was used to having multiple identities and started to feel better about things.

    “You guys are coming to graduation, right?” you asked the team again one night during a mission.

    “Yes, Sig, now pay attention to the bad guys,” Tony grumbled. You teleported to where he indicated and helped him take out a bunch of the bad guys you had been chasing.

    “And you’re coming in uniform, right?” you asked, even more annoyingly. It was important to you, so the team was complying.

    “Everyone except Hulk,” Cap answered. “Now will you please pay attention? Clint’s been shot,”

    “Again?” you groaned. “Clint, stop getting shot,” you grumbled at him. You teleported to his location and got to work healing him.

    “I don’t do it on purpose,” he grumbled.

    *

    You all piled in to one of the giant SUVs to go to your graduation that Saturday. You were even wearing a dress for the occasion under your cap and gown. You and the team took pictures, including a group shot with you in your cap and gown.

    The ceremony started and you grinned at your family when you saw them in the first row of parents watching the ceremony in their uniforms. Everything went smoothly until you crossed the stage to get your diploma and heard an announcement over the earbud comm device you wore nearly constantly now.

    “The world security council has found out Sigyn let Loki go. They have made a stupid-ass decision to arrest her for it. They’re coming to take her to The Raft. Protect the healer, now,” Fury’s voice came over the device. You finished shaking the principal’s hand and made your way off the stage as quickly as possible.

    You saw the Avengers all stand at the same time and you went to them, ignoring proper protocol for the ceremony. You were in deep shit if the council wanted you sent to The Raft, the underwater prison where they hid enhanced they couldn’t control and the very worst criminals.

    “Tony, Thor, get her back to the tower, now. We’ll regroup there,” Cap ordered quickly. You could teleport that far, but you wouldn’t leave your protectors behind. Tony didn’t like passengers when he flew so you went to Thor and let him fly you back to the tower. You still clutched onto him while he flew. You couldn’t fly yourself and it was a strange disturbing experience to fly with nothing but Thor supporting you. You decided you preferred teleporting.

    It didn’t take long to get back to the tower. “Get in the jet,” Tony ordered you. You used magic to change into your battle armor. “Thor, go with her. I’ll wait here for the others.” Thor kept an arm wrapped around you and led you into the jet. It wasn’t long before the others were all piling into the jet too.

    “Where are we going?” you asked them as Clint took the pilot’s chair and got the jet going in full-stealth mode.

    “A safehouse,” Clint answered succinctly. The rest of the flight was silent. “What’s the plan if they find us out here?” Clint finally asked the others.

    “We’re not letting them take Y/N,” Cap replied.

    “So we’re fighting the world security council?” Clint replied. “Not arguing, just making sure that’s the plan,” he added quickly.

    “Y/N, if you have any way of contacting Loki, now would be a _really_ good time to do so. Fury could convince them to leave you alone if he’s back in our custody,” Cap said gently. You shook your head.

    “I haven’t heard from him in a couple weeks. I don’t know how to reach him.” You hadn’t heard from Loki since he sent you the tea.

    Finally Clint landed the jet. “It’s a bit of a walk,” he told you all as you piled out of the jet.

    “That’s fine, we don’t want to be too easily tracked,” Nat said and led the way. Apparently she knew where this safehouse was. You hiked for a long time through the woods until you came to a small farm. Clint led the way up the front steps.

    “Honey, I’m home,” he announced as he stepped inside. “Sorry I couldn’t call first. An emergency came up and we kinda needed to lay low,” he told the woman inside.

    “Clint!” she exclaimed and went to kiss him. “Come in,” she bid you all.

    “This is Laura. She does me the honor of being my wife,” Clint explained quickly as they made room so you could all clamber inside the house. Tony left his ironman suit outside.

    “Dad! Did you bring Auntie Nat?” a small girl asked as she hugged Clint.

    “Why don’t you hug me and find out?” Nat replied. The girl ran for Nat and hugged her. Tony, Cap, and Thor were standing awkwardly to the side, trying not to break anything while discussing if anyone knew Barton had a wife. You stood nearby, guilty for getting everyone in this mess.

    The boys looked like they were going to start introductions, but Laura interrupted. “I know all of your names,” she told them. “Why are you all hiding out here?”

    “Only Fury knows about this place. There’s some trouble where government people are after the kid,” Clint gestured at you. You flushed and looked away.

    “Yeah...I’ll take the blame on this one,” you replied sheepishly.

    “What could she have possibly done? She’s a kid?” Laura demanded incredulously.

    “The right thing,” Cap replied. You couldn’t help the flood of relief you felt when he said that. He finally realized that you had done the right thing by letting Loki go.

    “Oh. Of course,” Laura replied with a smile. “That sort of thing happens all the time around here,”

    Somehow the boys got into a contest of who could cut the most wood for Laura. You had used magic to summon real clothes for everyone and helped Laura in the kitchen to make enough food to feed the herd of hungry men. It looked like Thor was currently in the lead.

    *

    Fury showed up at dinner. “Why am I not surprised to find all of you here?” he asked as he pulled up a chair to join the rest of you around the table.

    “We needed somewhere to stash Y/N and lie low while we could come up with a plan,” Cap replied defensively.

    “Any clues on the whereabouts of that boyfriend of yours, Sigyn?” Fury demanded from you when the rest of the team was equally unhelpful. You shook your head again.

    “Haven’t heard from him,” you hadn’t figured out how to contact him either. Not that you would unless the situation became truly dire. You didn’t want to force him back.

    “You’ll be safe here tonight. I can make sure they stay off your trail that long. Get out of here in the morning,” Fury told you all. “I’ll try to think of something more useful. It may be that you’ll have to spend time on the helicarrier if we can’t come up with a better option,” Fury told you. His tone made it sound like that that wasn’t a good thing. You nodded. You would accept the consequences for your decision.

    “Some of you are going to have to double up,” Laura commented once it started to get late. None of the boys were pleased with that. It was hilarious watching them argue over who they shared a bed with. You and Nat shared a bed and Bruce took a couch. Tony didn’t sleep and worked on their tractor all night instead, so everyone had somewhere to sleep.

    *

    Everyone was dressed in their uniforms again the next morning when you all saw the men in black stalking toward the house with guns. You were out of time.


	30. Chapter 30

    “Laura, get the kids upstairs and stay there,” Cap ordered after he had assessed the situation. “Hawkeye, go with them.” Clint nodded and herded his wife and kids up the stairs. He would stay here and protect his family. “Sigyn, stay in the house.” Cap ordered you firmly. “The rest of you, we’re taking the fight outside to them.” You promptly ignored your orders the second Cap and the others started outside. You weren’t leaving your family to fight for your safety without helping them. It was a stupid order anyway. “Can you ever do what you’re told?” Cap demanded when he caught you coming with them.

    “If I’m away from the house, they’ll leave Laura and the kids alone. I’m the one they’re after,” you protested logically. You weren’t going to let the civilians suffer for your choice to help Loki. “And I’m not going to let my family fight for my safety without helping,” you added. He grumbled, but knew you had a point. If you weren’t in the house, the men with guns had no reason to go in the house and risk hurting the civilians. So you ran across the yard very visibly with your family, drawing the attention of the men with guns from the house.

    The battle began when the soldiers surrounded your group in the field where the boys had been chopping wood earlier. “If this goes sourly, get the hell out of here,” Cap told you when he realized you were surrounded.. “Don’t argue and do what you’re told for once. Contact Fury and he’ll keep you safe on the helicarrier.” You nodded, accepting the orders and praying you didn’t have to follow them.

    “Those are tranq guns,” Nat announced as she surveyed the attackers. “They’re looking to subdue, not kill. Ironman, stay in their way. The guns can’t affect you,”

    “Got it!” Tony replied. Soon the guns started going off, including gas canisters and rubber pellets. Some of the men were brave and risked coming in for hand-to-hand. You stuck close to the middle of the group, using magic and daggers to aid the others.

    It was a grueling battle. There were so many soldiers and even robots that looked like they were ripoffs of the ironman suits. The council had prepared to fight all of the Avengers at once. They kept trying to separate you from the group, too, and you had to work to keep that from happening without actually hurting anyone too badly. These people weren’t evil, they were following orders. It was still troublesome to take them out without hurting them too badly.

    The battle turned in your favor with a flash of green light.

    “Hello, witchling. Sorry I’m late,” Loki said with a smile from right next to you, his cape fluttered around you, deflecting a volley from the tranq guns. Your heart skipped a beat with hope and excitement at the sound of his voice. You couldn’t quite believe he was real for a moment, but only a moment. It was him. He was here. He was back.

    “Hello, darling,” you replied with a grin. It was just as if nothing had happened, as if the last two weeks were just a bad dream. The fun, flirty, loving relationship had snapped right back into place. There would be a conversation about everything later, of course, but for now... “About time you showed up,” you teased.

    He leaned down to kiss you and you stood up on your toes to meet him halfway. He kissed you very thoroughly, very deeply, and very satisfactorily.

    “You seemed to have found some excitement while I was away,” he commented dryly, surveying the battle around you.

    You shrugged. “Some government agency thinks they need to arrest me. It’s all quite bothersome,”

    “Well that is just unacceptable,” Loki replied sounding put-upon. “They should know better than to try to arrest my beloved.”

    “They should,” you agreed pleasantly.

    “Would you two stop flirting and get back to the fight?” Stark demanded grumpily as he swept past, deflecting more tranq darts.

    You both sighed heavily and rolled your eyes. “I guess we ought to help our friends,” Loki finally said.

    “They’re so needy,” you whined. He nodded his agreement. You offered him your hand, which already had the glowing blue aura of your magic surrounding it. “Together?” you asked with a grin.

    He took your hand with his green glowing one. “Together,” he replied.

    “GET DOWN!” you both shouted at the same time, power gathering in your joined hands. Your teammates glanced at the pair of you and all dropped to the ground in an instant. They knew how much danger each of you could be apart. Combining your magic was doom for everyone who got caught up in it.

    You unleashed the power you’d gathered and a pulse of magic spread across the battlefield, knocking everyone it touched unconscious, and knocking out power to all of the robots. The pulse was at about waist height, so all of your friends were safe. They slowly made their way back to their feet when it was gone.

    You wrapped your arms around Loki’s neck now that the battle was over. “I’ve missed you,” you whispered in his ear as you held him too tightly.

    “And I you, my darling,” was his soft reply.


	31. Chapter 31

    You pulled out your phone and held it nearby with your magic to snap a picture of yourself and Loki. You sent it to Fury and video-called him about thirty seconds later. “Hey, Fury, guess who’s back?” you greeted him when he answered. You showed him Loki on the screen.

    “‘Bout damn time,” Fury grumbled.

    “Can you tell the council to stop trying to arrest me now? Loki and I just beat up a bunch of their thugs, and he’s starting to get annoyed,” You panned the camera for Fury so he could see all of the passed-out soldiers around Clint’s field.

    “We wouldn’t want your precious boyfriend annoyed,” Fury continued to grumble sarcastically. He seemed to have forgotten that he really didn’t want Loki annoyed. Annoyed Loki was chaotically destructive. Happy Loki with his girlfriend safe was so much better.

    “No, you really don’t,” you replied pleasantly. Your pleasant tone got Fury’s attention.

    “No, I really don’t,” he agreed, finally seeming to remember who your boyfriend was and the consequences of him being upset. You cared who you hurt. Loki didn’t. “You two get your asses back to the tower. Now. I’ll get the council off of your tail. Tony, Cap, make sure they go back to the tower and stay there,” Fury’s voice came through the comm devices for that last sentence. He hung up as soon as he gave the order.

    “Good job, you two,” Cap said as they team made their way over to you.

    “Brother! You have returned!” Thor exclaimed, rushing over to hug Loki. You stepped between them, saving Loki from Thor’s squishing hug.

    “Thor, don’t scare Loki away again. We just got him back,” you reminded Thor while Loki breathed a sigh of relief behind you. He wasn’t ashamed to use you as a human shield against Thor’s bone crushing hugs.

    “But you got to hug him,” Thor pouted.

    “He won’t stab me for hugging him,” you replied quite logically. Thor continued to pout.

    “You almost let Y/N get arrested, Reindeer Games,” Tony told Loki grumpily. Loki raised your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles. The gesture just seemed to piss Tony off more, which make Loki smirk.

    “I am quite sure my lady was perfectly capable of taking care of herself,”

    “Maybe we’ll leave her fend for herself next time you decide to skip town,” Tony grumbled.

    “Tony...” you warned. It wouldn’t be good if Tony got Loki riled up.

    “He up and left you, kid. You think we’re not all upset with how he treated you?” Tony glared at you. “I know Thor threatened to kick his ass when he got back for leaving you like that, and you act like nothing happened,”

    You shrugged. “He’s back. I love him. He helped keep me from getting arrested. We’ll discuss the rest when we’re home,”

    “You two should get back before Fury calls back and yells at all of us,” Cap said. “Can you teleport that far?” You and Loki both nodded. With his powers unbound he could teleport wherever he pleased. Together you had more than enough power to get back to the tower.

    “You guys are ok taking the jet back?” You felt bad that they had to take the long way home. Cap nodded.

    “Get out of here. Fury can’t call off the council until Loki’s safely back in custody. Regardless of the fact that he’s not actually in custody. We have to pretend for the council.” You nodded, understanding what Cap was getting at.

    You wrapped your arms around Loki’s waist and his arm went automatically around your shoulders. “Come on, love, let’s go home,” you bid him softly.

    “That, my darling, sounds like an excellent idea. Your chambers or mine?” you had to agree where you were teleporting if you were teleporting together. It ended up poorly if you didn’t.

    “Mine,” your suite was nicer than Loki’s room. Tony made fake retching noises at your adorableness. You flipped him off in reply, making the rest of the team laugh.

    “Go home,” Cap told you firmly.

    You sighed and rolled your eyes dramatically, but disappeared with Loki to reappear in the livingroom of your suite. The second you were safely back, your arms were back around Loki’s neck. “You act like you missed me or something,” he commented with a smile in his voice.

    “I did miss you, silly Trickster. I’m sure you know that perfectly well,” you replied. You took a step back and looked him over. It had only been two weeks, but you had to make sure he hadn’t changed, hadn’t gotten injured while he was away. He looked just the same as usual. His magic shimmered around him and he was back in normal clothes, instead of his battle armor.

    “You got new armor,” he commented, looking over your outfit. You looked down and realized that he hadn’t seen your costume yet, so you twirled for him so he could see it.

    “Like it?” you asked.

    “Lovely as ever, witchling. Though I hope the outfit is the only trait you got from Sif. I much prefer my healer to her company. You’ve already knocked me out and tied me up once,” he joked, earning a laugh from you. You used your own magic to return back to normal clothes too.

    “I only knocked you out. Sif tied you up. Then Frigga ignored that she saw the three of us like that. It was very kind of your mother to help me smuggle you back to Earth,” you explained with a smile. He grinned.

    “My apologies, I _was_ unconscious during that part of the story,” he gave you a regal bow and you giggled at him.

    The mood turned serious after that. “You’re really back?” you asked him softly, afraid he’d just come back to help with the battle. You weren’t surprised to learn he’d been keeping an eye on you, not really.

    He nodded, a sad look returning to his eyes. “I’m back, darling. I know saying I’m sorry isn’t nearly enough to make it up to you, but I _am_ sorry I left. I never should have and I was a moron to do so, a moron to risk your love with my own selfish hurt feelings. You were right. About everything. I should never have let Odin get in my head. Our decisions are ours to make, Asgardian betrothal or no.”

    He surprised you then by dropping to one knee, his right hand in a fist over his heart, his head bowed. “My love, my Sigyn, my darling witchling, I pray with every fiber of my being that you can find it in your heart to take me back after the horrible decision I made and the terrible way I treated you. I know I do not deserve the second chance, but I swear to you that I will _never_ do anything like that to you ever again, and I will spend every moment making it up to you. I love you with all of my heart and wish to stay with you for all of our days, if you will have me.” He looked up at you with a hopeful, pleading expression in his eyes before he bowed his head again, waiting for your decision. You saw the brief glimmer of fear in his eyes.

    “Of course I’ll have you. I’ve been waiting for you to come home, love,” you told him softly. His look of relief nearly broke your heart. He hadn’t been expecting you to take him back, you realized. He’d been expecting rejection. He jumped back to his feet and pulled you into his arms to give you the very best kiss you’d ever had, which was a very impressive feat, since all of his kisses were fantastic.


	32. Chapter 32

    The kisses soon led to you and Loki both sitting on your couch. Well, Loki was sitting on your couch. You were sitting on Loki’s lap, straddling his legs, thoroughly enjoying kissing him with your fingers wound in his hair. He didn’t seem to mind, at all. His arms were wrapped firmly around you, his fingers kneading the muscles in your back.

    “Hey, stop making out and come downstairs. Fury wants to talk to you,” Clint’s voice came from the door to your suite that he had opened. You flicked your hand and slammed the door shut in his face with magic, not bothering to break away from kissing Loki. “Thor! They’re mean!” Clint’s voice came as a shot from outside of your suite’s door. He wasn’t brave enough to try to enter again.

    Thor was, though.

    Thor stomped into the room. You and Loki tried to ignore him. You were busy and he was intruding. Didn’t he see that you were busy? “Go away Thor,” you both growled at him between kisses, not bothering to look at him. He laughed.

    “I think not. Fury is here to speak with us,” Thor grabbed you around the waist and threw you over his shoulder in the same movement. You had to quickly let go of Loki’s hair so you didn’t hurt him. You shrieked and thumped Thor on the back.

    “Thor!” you yelled at him. He started to stride from the room.

    “Come along, Brother,” he told Loki, who jumped to his feet with daggers in hand.

    “Put my beloved down, Thor!” Loki growled. Thor just chuckled and kept walking. You laughed then, understanding Thor’s plan. Loki would follow if Thor had you.

    “Thor, get your hand off of my ass!” you yelled at Thor, though. You weren’t letting him get off that easily for interrupting you. You had to have a little fun about it. Though you hadn’t expected Loki to actually stab him for the slight. Thor just sighed heavily.

    “Brother, kindly stop stabbing me just because my darling little sister is teasing me for interrupting your fun,” Thor grumbled. He was obviously used to being stabbed by Loki all of the time. “Y/N, kindly heal this, since it is your fault for teasing my poor brother,”

    “Can’t until you put me down,” you reminded him. “I need to see the wound.” He sighed heavily and continued to the elevator with you held firmly over his shoulder. You huffed and grumbled, but you wouldn’t actually hurt him and he knew it. You also couldn’t teleport away from him while he held you. Which he also knew. He knew the limits of Loki’s powers, and therefore yours, better than anyone but Loki. So you were stuck, and Loki followed grumpily.

    “Thor, why are you bleeding?” Clint asked when Thor carried you into the living room.

    “Loki took offense that I made them come downstairs,” Thor replied pleasantly. He finally set you on your feet and you moved to his side to remove the dagger and heal the wound. The second that was done, you went to Loki and took his hand.

    “Lovebirds, get over here,” Fury growled from the middle of the living room. You both sighed and went to your usual couch. Once everyone was seated, Fury got started. “Y/N, I’ve gotten the world security council to rescind their decision to arrest you. It took a lot of work, so you two are going to do exactly what you’re told for once so it stays that way. Do you understand? They _will_ throw your ass in The Raft to control him if we can’t convince them he’s reformed.” You nodded meekly. Neither of you would let that happen. Loki’s hand tightened on yours. He wouldn’t let you be taken by the council either.

    “What do we have to do?” you asked softly, portraying to obedient little girl act. Fury rolled his eye.

    “Don’t try to play the cute little innocent girl act. I’m not stupid. I know you’re not stupid enough to risk getting yourself arrested. Besides, that would be a stupid decision on the council’s part, because he’ll go destructively chaotic and probably destroy the world to get you back,” Loki shrugged and tried to look innocent. No one believed him. That’s exactly what he would do. He will kill any and every person in his way if the council decided to arrest you. Fury turned to Loki. “You’re on house arrest for 8 weeks for this stunt. You’re not to leave the tower under _any_ circumstances,”

    “8 weeks?” you asked. That seemed an awfully long time for this little adventure of his.

    “8 weeks. Don’t make me extend it. Two weeks for the time he was gone, two weeks for him leaving you for those two weeks, two weeks for the world security council trying to arrest my healer, and two weeks for pissing me the hell off,” Fury growled. “You are on the opposite of house arrest. You’re going on every single mission possible. Let him fret over you for awhile.” Fury told you. Great. That was a stupid-ass decision. Did he really want Loki in that mood for 8 weeks? It seemed he did. “And don’t you dare try to take this thing off him again. It’s the only thing the council trusts to keep him under control,”

    “You do realize that’s useless for that purpose, right?” you asked Fury as he fastened the Stark tech back around Loki’s wrist. Loki didn’t protest the treatment.

    “Of course it isn’t. The only thing that has any hope of keeping him in some semblance of control is that he likes you and seems to occasionally listen to what you say,” Fury replied. “But we let the council think what they want in order for them to leave us the hell alone.” Fury growled some more, but you tuned him out. You stroked the back of Loki’s hand with your thumb, trying to calm him. He raised your hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. Fury rolled his eye again.

    “Are either of you listening to me?”

    “No,” you both replied pleasantly and broke into laughter at Fury’s glare.

    “Fury, we get it. We’re in trouble. Loki needs to lie low so the council forgets about this. You also want him to suffer for leaving and putting the healer at risk. We get it,” you told him. He glared at you, but finally gave up lecturing.

    “She’s gotten incorrigible in his company,” Fury grumbled to Cap, who just shrugged.

    “They’re happy and he’s been a good team member under her influence. I’d rather have her have some snarkiness than just the timid shy ghost who first moved into the tower,”

    “Looks like you’re outvoted, Fury,” you told him with a grin. Your family would circle to protect you and he knew it. He rolled his eye again, but soon gave up. He visited for a little while and even had a beer with the group. The one beer turned to the group drinking over the ordeal being over. Asgardian mead was brought out. You glared right back at Cap when he tried to deny you a glass of it. “Cap, I’m Asgardian. I have as high of a metabolism as these two,” you indicated Thor and Loki. Thor handed you the glass of mead without any qualms. You’d had the stuff in Asgard and it was delicious. One glass wouldn’t have any affect on you.

    “You’re not of age!” Cap protested.

    “Cap, you’re being a prude,” you grumbled. “It’s one glass, and I’m Asgardian,” if the stuff hadn’t been so delicious, you might’ve given in, but it was and was rare here, so you were enjoying it while you could. You didn’t know when you’d be back to Asgard, though you had a feeling that now that Loki was back, you’d have to go soon.

    “You’re outvoted, Cap, just give up,” Nat added. He relented, but didn’t look happy about it. It was nice to spend the evening with your family, plus Fury, though you and Loki did sneak back off to return to your prior activity while the others were trying to get tipsy.

    *

    The next evening came the first of the missions you had to go on without Loki. You donned your battle armor. Loki walked you up to the floor where you had to board the jet for the mission. He was worried, though he was trying not to show it. “I’ll be fine, love. You’ve taught me well. Besides, I’m the healer. You know they’ll put me at the back of the battle where I’ll be perfectly safe,” you reminded him. Again.

    “I worry about you, darling,” he said softly. “I hate that I cannot go with you to be sure you are safe,”

    “I love you too,” you replied and stood up on your toes to kiss him. Thor grabbed your arm and hauled you toward the jet.

    “Come along, little sister. The sooner we head out, the sooner we will return.” You let Thor haul you to the jet and blew a kiss to Loki before you disappeared into the jet.

    *

    Loki was going to kill you.

    Or a bunch of other people.

    Especially the Enhanced you’d been fighting.

    You were supposed to be at the back of the battle, doing emergency healings. That plan had gone out the window the second the back of the battle exploded. It was only a quick use of teleporting which saved you from the explosion.

    Unfortunately, you were the target of the attacks. They wanted to take out the healer before dealing with your friends. That didn’t mean they weren’t attacking the others too. You were kneeling beside Cap healing him from a nasty stomach wound when you were surrounded by the Enhanced. One of them burst through your shields. You managed to teleport Cap away when the Enhanced grabbed your arm, stopping you from saving yourself with magic. You summoned a dagger to stab him, but he moved quickly, yanking your arm behind you, shoving some sort of power at you. You howled in pain as you felt bones snap. You twirled, throwing your dagger at him and summoning another to thrust into him. He dropped your arm, surprised at the dagger sticking out of his stomach and the other in his arm. You hated hurting people. You were a healer, but some things you couldn’t help in life or death situations.

    Unfortunately, his friend drew a gun. You teleported away, cradling your very broken arm to your chest, but you were too slow. The gun went off, the bullet going straight through your leg. You stumbled into Clint on the other side of your teleport. You weren’t sure how you’d ended up teleporting to him. You hadn’t picked a target, but somehow you’d ended up beside him.

    “Shit! Kid, are you ok?” he asked, catching you before you could stumble. Your leg was on fire, bleeding freely, and didn’t want to support your weight.

    “I’ve been shot. Why didn’t you say how badly it fucking hurts,” you snarled in pain as you knelt down, summoning a roll of bandage to wrap around your leg. You couldn’t heal yourself. “Shit. My arm’s broken too. I can’t-” Clint knelt down beside you and wrapped the bandage for you.

    “Guys, the healer’s down. We’ve got to get out of here,” Clint called over the comm.

    “Evacuate her to the jet. We’ll meet you there shortly.” Cap’s voice replied. Thor landed beside you an instant later. A moment later you were flying with him back to the jet.

    “Loki is going to kill me,” you grumbled through the pain, fighting back tears, whimpers, and shouts, and fighting the urge to try to move and find a position that didn’t hurt. Everything would hurt.

    “He is going to kill all of us,” Thor replied calmly, convincing you to sit on the table in the middle of the jet that was here for the purpose of medical treatments during flights.

    “Go help them,” you told him. “I can defend here.” He gave you a look and you sighed.

    “Hulk is smashing the rest of them. It will be done shortly,” Thor told you. He looked over the bandage Clint had tied and apparently deemed it adequate.

    The team returned soon. Nat made some kind of makeshift sling for your arm and Clint got the jet flying back to the tower as fast as possible. “We have drugs that work on Asgardians back at the tower. Someone forgot to restock the jet,” Nat glared at Tony. “Hold on a little longer,” Nat told you. You nodded.

    “I will,” you managed to get the words out through a hiss of pain. Thor held your unbroken hand. You knew he felt bad that you’d been injured. They all did.

    “How many people are going to die because Y/N was hurt?” Clint asked Thor. No one wanted to answer that question.

    It didn’t take long to get back. Loki was standing on the platform waiting for the team to return.

    He was going to kill you all when he found out you were hurt.


	33. Chapter 33

    “Y/N, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nat demanded as you struggled to your feet the second the jet had landed.

    “Do you want Loki to think I can’t stand on my own power?” you shot back at her as Thor braced you to keep you upright. Your leg was bleeding through the bandage and didn’t want to take your weight.

    “You can’t stand on your own power,” Clint jumped into the grumbling.

    “Do you want _Loki_ knowing that?” you snarled at him. You wanted everyone to survive this experience and having Loki angry as little as possible seemed the best idea for that. “I _can_ stand on my own. I’ll agree that I shouldn’t,” you finally admitted.

    The door to the jet opened and you stepped out with Thor’s arm wrapped around you to keep you on your feet. Loki had already been walking toward the jet, a grin on his face at the idea of whatever fun he’d found for you two for the evening. His expression fell when he saw you. He ran over, fear and worry replacing his previous grin. You tried to give him a smile to reassure him.

    He went straight for Thor with daggers drawn. One was held to Thor’s throat instantly. “You were supposed to protect her!” Loki snarled in frustrated rage. Thor moved his arm, pushing you behind him, away from Loki’s daggers.

    You tried to protest, but Thor held you back with one strong arm. “I am not letting you play with Loki while he has daggers out and is actively trying to stab me, little sister. You are already injured enough,” The two of them flew through a well practiced battle. It would have been impressive had Loki hadn’t been actively trying to stab Thor. Thor was just defending himself, and you. He was at an obvious disadvantage here.

    Loki’s rage and his frustrated pain were unrivaled. At least Thor could handle him.

    It was still dangerous, so you took the opportunity to distract him from killing Thor. It was a cheap shot and you knew it, but you did it anyway. You were a healer first, and your first instinct was to protect your family. You stepped out from behind Thor and took a step toward Loki, purposely letting your injured leg buckle beneath you.

    The effect was exactly as you expected. Loki dropped his daggers and rushed to you, catching you before you could fall. He held you cradled in his arms as he looked over your wounds. When he had taken inventory, he swept you up into his arms and started whispering worriedly in Asgardian. He must have been really worried to slip back into his native tongue and not English or All-speak. “I’m ok,” you told him, trying to reassure him, but you could hear the pain in your voice.

    “I’m so sorry, love. I should have been there,” he finally switched back over to a language you could understand, calming ever so slightly.

    “Reindeer Games, do something useful and get her to medical. Unless you’ve suddenly developed the power to heal her yourself, we’ll have to call the doctor in,” Tony grumbled. The rest of the team was trying to get out of the jet, but you, Thor, and Loki were in their way.

    “Yeah, we haven’t been able to get any pain meds in her yet. How she’s not crying in pain is beyond me,” Nat added, drawing Loki’s attention back to you again. Without answering them, Loki teleported the two of you down to medical. He laid you on the hospital bed.

    “Witchling...” Loki started.

    “I’ll be ok, Loki,” you tried to reassure him again, but you were fighting back tears of pain. You saw the heartbreak in his eyes. He felt terrible that you’d been in danger and he hadn’t been able to be there, worse, it was his decision to leave to find himself and deal with his problems that had led to him not being able to be there. “It’s not your fault,”

    “I left you and you had to go face this mission without me.” He started digging through the medicine cabinet until he pulled out the bottle of pills with ‘For Asgardians’ written on it in both English and Asgardian runes. “Let me take care of you, love,” he whispered, worry and pain in his eyes. He placed a couple in your good hand and handed you a held a glass of water to your lips. You didn’t need that much help, but you let him do it. He was so worried about you.

    Almost instantly, the pain was gone. Whatever was in those pills was strong. It had to be, to work on Thor. Shit. To work on Thor. Thor was a whole lot bigger than you. “That dose was labelled for Thor,” you murmured, finally realizing what you should’ve known. Loki smiled softly and kissed your forehead.

    “I am aware,” he replied gently. He was obviously glad you weren’t in pain anymore, at least. “I also know you quite well, darling. You will continue to insist you are fine while you are in pain, and will hate, fret, and fear every moment of a doctor fixing you up. This way you do not need to experience such things,”

    “Cheater,” you mumbled.

    “Let me take care of you, darling,” he bid you again. “Or I shall be forced to go kill my brother for letting you get hurt,” he grumbled.

    “Stay with me?” you asked him softly, fighting to keep your eyes open for a moment longer. Loki would make sure you were taken care of. He felt terrible for the fact that you went on a mission without him, especially since you came back _this_ hurt from it. He wouldn’t forgive himself until you had healed, you knew. He was always too hard on himself.

    “Always, darling,” he replied and kissed you lightly. “Rest now. I will be here,”

    *

    The next time you woke, you found yourself tucked in your own bed. Loki was at your side the moment your eyes opened. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly, pushing your hair back from your face. You moved to sit up against the pillows and he was helping you in an instant.

    “Like someone broke my arm, then fed me pills that are dosed for Thor,” you complained at him. Your brain wasn’t quite awake yet. You right arm was in a cast. Great. You were right handed. Why couldn’t they have broken your left arm?

    “Those were two separate events, witchling,” Loki told you with a small hesitant smile. You gave him a smile in return.

    “I know. I just wish, yet again, that I can heal myself.” You sighed heavily. He kissed the top of your head.

    “I know, darling. You’re going to be out of commission basically until I’m off of house arrest. We heal faster than humans, but that was a very nasty break,”

    “How bad?” you asked.

    “The bones were broken in three places. It’s a miracle they didn’t break the skin. Your leg should be able to take your weight again in a couple days. The bullet went clear through and if you heal as fast as Thor and I do...”

    “Is Thor still alive? You were pretty set on killing him,”

    “He’s still alive. For now.” Loki grumbled. He was obviously displeased about this fact. “He was supposed to protect you,”

    “We were ambushed, Loki. There was no chance for him to protect me, or for me to hide away from the fighting. They also obviously knew who I was. I was their target the entire fight. We had no chance to circle the wagons around the healer either. It was an awful fight,”

    Loki nodded. “The team explained the same thing while you were unconscious,” he explained. You nodded and wearily laid your head on his shoulder.

    “I’ve been asleep for...hours?” he nodded. “Why am I tired?” you grumbled. You had just woken up. You shouldn’t be this brain-numbingly tired.

    “You’re healing, love,” he reminded you gently. “Have you never-?” you shook your head.

    “I’ve never been hurt like this before. Remind me not to do it again. It’s no fun.” He chuckled.

    “Gladly, darling,” he replied gently. “You should eat something before you go back to sleep, though,” he told you before you could fall back asleep on him. You grumbled at him in reply.

    “I’m not hungry,” you told him sourly. Eating seemed like too much work when you just wanted to sleep.

    “Sure you’re not,” he replied dryly. “Asgardians are already bottomless pits by human standards. Healing Asgardians are worse,”

    “You make me sound like Thor,” you grumbled at him, which got a real laugh out of him.

    “I apologize, my lady, I would never compare you to my idiot brother,” he laughed, which earned him a smile. “Natasha made that pasta dish you like so much,” he bribed.

    “Cheater,” you grumbled. You would gladly eat an entire pot of that stuff alone and in one sitting. He laughed.

    “I thought that might pique your interest,” he commented innocently. You rolled your eyes at him, but were delighted when a plate of the pasta creation was in your lap a moment later.

    “You are the best boyfriend ever,” you told him, reaching for the fork to devour your weight in Nat’s delicious pasta. About thirty seconds later you realized you couldn’t hold a fork while you had a cast on your arm. This was going to be a long eight weeks. You switched to your left hand, and fought to manage with it.

    Loki gallantly didn’t try to force the issue of helping, knowing you’d be too embarrassed to accept his help, if he offered. You weren’t having him feed you like a child. You weren’t. You swore you weren’t. Until he was telling such ridiculous stories about Thor being turned into a frog and still somehow wielding Mjolnir that you didn’t even notice the fork was no longer in your hand


	34. Chapter 34

    It took a couple of days to get the right dosage for the meds so you weren’t in pain, but weren’t knocked out either. While you were both figuring it out, Loki held you while you slept them off, made sure you ate something when you woke, and read you stories until the pain got too bad and the vicious cycle began again.

    By the time you finally had it figured out, your leg was healed enough that you could put weight on it again. “Witchling?” Loki asked softly and concerned when you moved to get out of the bed.

    “I haven’t left the bed in three days except to go to the bathroom. I need a shower and to leave the room. I have a broken arm, I’m not dying, but the others will get worried if we don’t show our faces downstairs soon,” you reminded him.

    He smiled and kissed your forehead. “Very well, darling. Let me draw you a bath instead? It will be easier than trying to stand long enough for a proper shower.” You nodded and settled back among the pillows with a book of Asgardian children’s tales while he did. The book was in Asgardian, which you were painstakingly learning. You were picking up the spoken language a lot faster, as though it was something you were just remembering, not learning from scratch.

    Loki returned a few minutes later and moved to pick you up from the bed. “Loki,” you told him softly and swung your own legs out of the bed. “I’m not dying, Loki,” you reminded him, but let him help you to your feet and brace you. Your leg could support your weight, but it wasn’t happy about it. You bit back a hiss of pain that would just make him worry.

    “I dislike seeing you in pain, love,” he told you softly. “Especially when it is my fault you are in this state,”

    “It’s not your fault,” you told him again.

    “I was not there to keep you safe,” he protested again. “You are a healer, not a warrior,” he added. You couldn’t argue with that point. So you let him walk you to the waiting bath, which was of course filled with bubbles and surrounded by candles. Hopeless romantic boyfriend. “You’re going to snarl at me if I attempt to help you into the bath, aren’t you?” he asked, sounding disappointed, but resigned.

    “Very much so,” you replied, but sat on the edge of the tub. “But you can help me with the bandage.” You’d learned quickly how to work with his overprotective mood. The bandage on your leg had to be changed regardless. Letting him help would keep you both happy. You pulled up your pajama pant leg over the bandage. Loki was instantly kneeling in front of you, propping your leg up under his knee so he could reach the bandage more easily. He carefully removed it and promised to help you rebandage it after your bath.

    You were surprised he actually left you to bathe on your own. You were grateful he listened to you for once. He was hard to deal with when he was in this mood, though you had to admit that he was adorably romantic insisting on taking care of you. It would have been extremely romantic in a movie or a book where you could watch the character dealing with it and didn’t have to live with not taking care of yourself.

    You soaked in the bath for a very long time. The water never cooled and you had a shield over the cast, so there was no need for you to rush. However, baths were boring, so you did eventually try to get clean and get out of said bath. It was going fine until you tried to wash your hair. Washing one’s hair is _not_ a one-handed activity.

    “Witchling, why are you crying?” Loki asked from beside the tub in an instant. You hadn’t even realized you had been frustratedly crying over the stupid fact that you couldn’t wash your own stupid hair. It was a ridiculous reason to be crying and you knew it. You looked over at him and flushed, horrified that you were not only crying in front of him for a stupid reason, bu that you were naked while this was happening. He rolled his eyes. “I am quite aware what a female body looks like,” he informed you dryly. “Why are you crying?” he asked softly, gently when you still hadn’t answered him.

    “I can’t wash my own stupid hair,” you wailed at him, feeling ridiculous for getting emotional over such a silly thing. It was just the last straw on your emotions.

    “All you ever had to do was ask, darling,” he reminded you just as softly and gently, his voice warm and loving. An instant later, his fingers were in your hair, expertly massaging your scalp. “There, nothing to cry over,” he told you softly as he worked on your hair.

    Soon, your hair was clean and he had you up and out of the bath, wrapped in a towel before you could protest. With a little magic of your own, you were in clean pajamas with your hair dry. Loki had taught you some useful spells. He swept you into his arms. You yelped in surprise and wrapped your arms around his neck automatically. He set you back on the bed so he could rebandage your leg. “Almost healed,” he told you as he did. “The bandage can probably come off in the morning. It seems you heal nearly as fast as Thor and I do,”

    “That’s a relief at least,”

    “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?” he asked as you let him help you back to your feet.

    “I’m sure, silly Trickster,” you laughed at him. “Let’s go find our friends before Thor decides he hasn’t seen us and come crashing in here,”

    Loki huffed. “He’s already done it three times,” he grumbled. You raised an eyebrow. “You were asleep,” you weren’t surprised. You’d been asleep most of the last three days until you’d figure out how many meds it took to keep you out of pain but conscious.

    “How many times have you stabbed him for it?” you asked as you made your way slowly from the room, using Loki as a brace. He didn’t mind or show any lack of patience at the slow gait. About half-way down the hall your leg seemed to finally remember that it was supposed to support your weight and the walk got easier.

    “Only twice,” he replied proudly. You just laughed in reply.

    “How many times _should_ you have stabbed your brother for checking on us?” you asked as though it were an exam question. He dramatically thought about it, like it was an extremely difficult question.

    “Four!” he replied with a wicked grin. “Three times for the times he barged in and an extra to make sure he didn’t forget,” you had to hold on to him, fighting for air you were laughing so hard.

    “You were so close. The correct answer was none,” you both were rolling in laughter as you stepped off the elevator in the livingroom.

    “Y/N!” chorused your family from around the livingroom. Thor rushed over and swung you around in a bone-crushing hug.

    “Thor!” you protested, giggling. “You act like you haven’t seen me in months, not a couple days,”

    “We were worried about you, little sister,” he said when he finally set you back on your feet. “Loki wouldn’t leave your side and was quite rude when anyone tried to check on you,” he lifted his shirt and pouted when he showed you the three bandages on his side. You sighed.

    “Sorry, Thor,” you told him and raised your hand to touch his wounds to heal them.

    Loki grabbed your arm. “Stop that,” he grumbled. “Thor deserved it and you need all your power for yourself,”

    “Nonsense, besides, a simple stab wound from your super sharp daggers only takes a drop of power to heal. And I can’t heal myself anyway, might as well do something useful.” Loki huffed, but let you take your arm back to heal Thor, even though he grumbled the entire time that Thor didn’t deserve the healing.

    “So what took you so long to rejoin the land of the living?” Clint asked when you were finished and Loki was helping you to your couch.

    “The Asgardian meds were dosed for Thor. It took awhile to find a dosage that would ease the pain but not knock me out for hours...” you explained. The team accepted that answer.

    “We were just getting ready to order pizza,” Tony said. You nodded. That sounded like an excellent idea.

    “Loki, I have received word from Mother through Heimdall. We are to return to Asgard with Sigyn once she is healed and you are no longer grounded,”

    “You told Mother I’m grounded?” Loki demanded incredulously, which got a laugh out of everyone.

    “Heimdall told Mother you are grounded,” Thor corrected calmly.

    “Can I stab him?” Loki asked you, already summoning a dagger. You sighed and took the dagger from him.

    “No, you cannot stab your brother. I just healed him,”

    “But he told Mother on me,” he grumbled and glared at Thor, summoning another dagger. You sighed over dramatically and took that dagger from him too.

    “I did no such thing. Heimdall saw the whole thing and told Mother what you did himself.” Thor’s explanation didn’t stop Loki from summoning two more daggers. You took them from him too and set them next to you with their friends. Clint went to the dry erase board and started keeping a tally of how many daggers Loki summoned that evening. “Loki was grounded quite often when we were children,” Thor told you pleasantly. That dagger you had to grab out of the air with magic to add it to your pile, since Loki had thrown it before you could take it from him.

    “Stop that,” you scolded Loki. He pouted at you.

    “He’s being mean to me,” he protested.

    “Thor, stop being mean to your brother,” you told Thor firmly.

    “I like him better when he’s quiet and anti-social,” Tony commented, looking at your dagger collection. You grabbed one of the daggers from the pile to throw at him. He fell off of his chair to avoid it, though you had vanished it back to your pile before it would’ve touched him. Clint added a tally mark for you on the board.

    “Hey! I didn’t summon that one,” you protested.

    “You threw it,” he shrugged. “It counts,”

    “Good thing you were not around when we were children,” Thor commented dryly. “You would have been grounded just as often as Loki. Though the court would have loved you for your affect on my brother; he is much happier with you around. They still will,” he added with a soft smile.

    You were saved from that line of conversation by the pizza arriving. Tony dropped three pizzas on the coffee table by where you, Loki, and Thor were all sitting. The rest of the stack was spread around the room among the others. The Avengers could all devour food, though the Asgardian boys were definitely the worst offenders. You gave Thor a run for his money. Loki was right, healing Asgardians were bottomless pits.

    Natasha ended up on the dagger-count board when she threw a dagger at Clint for making a comment on your ability to eat an entire pizza, since it had made you shy enough to put down the slice you had been eating.

    “Oh, Thor, I forgot. I promised you we’d watch the Viking movie after Tony’s party,”

    “Yes, I wish to see the movie,” Thor had his usual puppy-dog excitement.

    “You guys don’t mind?” you asked the rest of the room. No one complained, so you had Jarvis put on How to Train your Dragon. “It’s about Vikings and dragons,” you told Loki before the movie started.

    The Asgardians were entranced the entire movie. Loki fell in love with the mischief twins who had dedicated themselves to his service. They both looked like they were reminiscing the entire movie, though Thor called out things that were inaccurate.

    “Y/N, where is the song?” Thor asked sadly when the movie was over.

    “It’s in the sequel,” you explained, “but the second movie doesn’t make sense unless you’ve seen the first one.” He nodded and settled back to watch the sequel when Jarvis started it

    “What song?” Loki asked in a whisper in your ear.

    “You’ll see,” you replied, curling more comfortably in his arms. If anyone minded watching two children’s movies, they didn’t comment on it. You thought they actually might have enjoyed it with all of the crazy things in their life.

    Loki’s and Thor’s eyes both lit up when they heard the whistled beginning of For the Dancing and the Dreaming. They were both entranced, hearing a song from their childhood performed in a movie on Earth.

    You did something stupid then that would get Loki upset with you afterwards, but it would be worth it for the duration of the fun. You quickly shoved the table aside with magic, slapped about four layers of shields around your leg and got to your feet, pulling him up with you. You grinned and offered him your arm in the traditional beginning of the dance. You danced and sang to the song along with the characters on the screen. Your friends took pictures of you dancing with Loki in the livingroom while you both wore pajamas. His words were sung in Asgardian, his voice warm and loving, his accented singing voice perfect. You still sang your part in English, your Asgardian wasn’t good enough for this yet. Loki didn’t mind. He swept you into a kiss when the song ended, holding you off your feet.

    “Thank you, darling,” he said softly in your ear when he’d settled you both back on the couch. He had settled you in his lap this time, wrapping a blanket over you. He was touched that you thought enough of him to perform the dance with him, even though you were injured and shouldn’t have. You knew how much he loved to dance and how much this particular song meant to him. “But that is enough strain on that injury for the evening,”

    “I love you,” you whispered, curling more comfortably in his arms to watch the rest of the movie with him. He did hand you more of the pain meds, obviously concerned that you had overstrained your injured leg. Which you had, but you wouldn’t tell him that. You did take the pills, though.

    Thor settled on your couch after he’d gotten another slice of pizza and moved the table back over. You stuck your icy cold toes on his stomach, earning a very satisfactory shriek from him. “Sigyn,” he growled at you, getting laughs from the entire group.

    “You’re so warm!” you protested innocently. He sighed and held his hand over your icy toes, warming them faster.

    It was a wonderful evening spent with your family, even if you did protest going back to bed for as long as possible, stubbornly visiting with your family. Loki sighed in loving exasperation when he realized you were falling asleep in his arms. By then the group was dispersing, so you didn’t protest when he lifted you into his arms to carry you back to bed. You protested softly, but it was half-hearted at best. “Darling, you need rest. You’re healing from rather severe injuries. It’s normal to need rest. You aren’t shirking, you aren’t weak, and you don’t have to push yourself to the breaking point. You’re allowed to need and ask for help. Your entire family is here for you. They are _not_ going to abandon you or kick you out. You know the hawk has been shot on almost every mission he’s been on and they still keep him around,” he laughed.

    “Hey!” came a voice from the ceiling tiles.

    “Clint? What are you doing up there?” you demanded.

    “Tony asked me to fix a circuit,” came the reply. You rolled your eyes and you and Loki both laughed at him as Loki stepped into the elevator with you.

    Loki laid you gently in your bed. “I love you, witchling,” he told you softly, kissing your forehead. You grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bed with you.

    “Stay with me?” you asked softly. You didn’t want to be alone.

    “Of course. All you ever had to do was ask,” he whispered, settling himself under the covers with you. You curled yourself around him and laid your head on his chest. You were surprised to feel metal on his chest. You reached up and touched the spot on his chest where the metal was. He let you reach up and pull the necklace out from under his shirt by the chain.

    “You’re wearing it,” you told him softly when you recognized the betrothal pendant that was identical to yours. You hadn’t expected him to wear his after he’d had such a poor reaction to seeing it again.

    “Of course, I am, my darling witchling, and have since the day I found you again my Sigyn,” he whispered holding you to him and running his fingers through your hair.


	35. Chapter 35

    You spent most of the rest of your recovery time, and Loki’s grounding, studying with Loki and Thor. You had to be prepared for court before you returned to Asgard. You learned court dances from the boys, practiced your Asgardian nearly constantly, and crammed as much history and culture into your brain as was possible. It was exhausting.

    The team often found the three of you passed out in the early hours of the morning in the living room in a pile of limbs, books, and blankets. Thankfully they all knew better than to wake any of you, or let Loki know they had seen him in such a compromising situation. Especially the night you were both using Thor as a pillow.

    Loki denied it happened even though you had printed off the picture from Jarvis’ security files and had it stuck to the bulletin board above the desk in your room.

    You were just grateful that Loki wasn’t jealous of Thor. Yes, you were close to Thor, but it was a brother/sister relationship and nothing more. Thankfully, Loki recognized that, and didn’t throw a fit. It helped that you could both commiserate over Thor being an annoying older brother. You both yelled at him one night when he had decided you had both worked too hard and threw you one over each shoulder to carry you to bed.

    Tony laughed and took pictures of you, Loki, and Thor the entire trip back up to your suite. Loki was so concerned with throwing daggers at Tony that he didn’t think about stabbing Thor for the indecency of being carried to bed thrown over Thor’s shoulder. Or it was something he was so used to from when they were younger he hadn’t even thought it strange. Thor set you both down on your feet outside of your suite. “Get some sleep, children. You have both been working too hard. Our family will love you no matter what, little sister, and you should know better than to let your _kærasta_ work herself to death, brother,”

    “I don’t _let_ her do anything,” Loki grumbled in reply. Thor boomed a laugh, kissed your hand, clapped Loki on the shoulder, and left to go find his own bed.

    “C’mon, love, Thor’s right for once. We both need sleep.” You grabbed Loki’s hand and pulled him into your suite before he could somehow get mad at Thor. You tried to remember when the suite had become both of yours and not just yours alone. You gave up quickly. It was impossible to know exactly and it didn’t matter. Loki slept here now, most of his stuff was here, and his room had become your overflow library and dagger vault.

    *

    “Loki, I have to go, I promised Doctor Strange,” you protested again when Loki wanted you to stay home. You had even bribed him with pancakes and he was still being this difficult.

    “I can’t go with you,” he reminded you. Again.

    You rolled your eyes. “You don’t need to come with me to visit a friend,” you reminded him patiently.

    “You’re still injured. I dislike you going alone,” his voice was scared, concerned, worried. The last time you’d gone out without him, you’d been hurt.

    “I know, love, but I’ll be fine. You know I’m spending the next three days entirely in your company. Today’s the best day to help the Doctor,” you reminded him overly patiently.

    “I still dislike it,” he grumbled. You kissed his cheek.

    “I love you too. I’ll see you this afternoon. Doctor Strange will give me a ride home,” you reminded him. On impulse. “Can I have a dagger?” you asked. He smiled and summoned one for you in a very impressive looking sheath. You tied on the sheath obediently and he seemed more relaxed at your leaving when you were armed while you were gone. “Thanks,” you told him with a smile and teleported away after one last kiss.

    You tapped politely on the sanctum’s door and it swung open for you. There was a portal to Strange’s study waiting for you inside. You stepped through without a second thought. “Sorry I’m late. And armed,” you greeted Doctor Strange sheepishly.

    “You’re a sorceress, you’re always armed,” he replied pleasantly as you took your usual seat across the desk from him and picked up the cup of tea that was sitting there waiting for you.

    You nodded your head in agreement. “Well, until tomorrow anyway,” you added.

    “Where’s that boyfriend of yours? Please tell me he’s not scaring Wong in the library again.” Strange was amused by Loki’s antics most of the time, as long as Loki wasn’t destroying anything. Wong didn’t like Loki messing with his library.

    You laughed and shook your head. “No, he’s kinda...grounded, so he’s stuck at the tower,”

    Strange just gave you a look. “Seems like you have a couple stories to share today,” he commented dryly, also looking over your cast. You sighed heavily, but told him about Loki leaving, your near arrest by the world security council, and the mission where you were injured.

    “We’ve had a busy month,” you concluded.

    “So it sounds. And you didn’t take care of that yourself, because?” he gestured toward your arm.

    You huffed. “Because I can’t heal myself, only others,” you grumped at him, setting your teacup down a little too hard. You hated discussing your weaknesses. “Believe me, I would’ve healed it if I could,”

    “You know I had to check. I can’t very well allow you to burn power on me if you need it for yourself, and we all know how healers are...”

    “Apparently we are incorrigible,” you replied with a smile. He caught you up with the things the sanctum had been up to, which was mostly monitoring threats to the Earth. “Ready to get started?” you asked after he’d caught you up on events and you had ‘finished’ your cup of tea. The tea refilled itself. He stripped off his gloves and you got to work. His hands were better than they’d been last month, but it was still going to take a long while to heal all of the damage. You placed your glowing blue hand over his hands, focused on where you’d left off the last healing, and got to work.

    Your power levels flickered late that afternoon. It took all of your willpower to lift your hand from his and break the healing spell. Healers really did not like leaving healings unfinished. You were no exception to that rule, and this was the third time you’d had to leave his hands unhealed.

    “Thank you as always, Miss Y/N,” Strange told you when the connection had broken. You blinked away the healing trance, dazed since you had dumped more power into it than you should have. You nodded in reply. “Are you alright?” he asked, concerned.

    You nodded again. “Sorry, that takes a lot of power. There’s a reason I only do this healing when I’m about to lose my powers anyway,” you reminded him. He knew all of this already. You’d explained it to him last month.

    “I can still worry when you drain yourself this much on my account,” he replied. You gave him a smile. It seemed everyone had a soft spot for the healer.

    “It’s no trouble, though I would appreciate a ride home,” you reminded him. You teleported here and didn’t have the power left to get back home.

    “Of course.” With a quick circle of his hands a portal opened. He came over to your side of the desk and offered you a hand to pull you to your feet. You let him without a protest.

    “I’ll see you soon,” you bid him and stepped through the portal with a wave.

    Loki was waiting on the other side and wrapped his arms around you the second you stepped through the portal. He waved to Strange on the other side before the portal snapped shut behind you. “I was so worried,” he whispered as he held you to him.

    “I’m fine,” you reminded him.

    “You have no magic left,” he told you dryly.

    You shrugged in reply. “Duh? Strange’s hands are _really_ bad. Besides, I’m going to be without my powers for three days anyway, might as well do something useful with them today,”

    “Healers,” Loki grumbled half-heartedly.

    “I love you too,” you replied and stood up on your toes to kiss him.

    *

    “LOKI!” Tony shouted at breakfast the next morning. You had made the mistake of joining your family and Tony had made one too many quips about you and Loki and it had grated your nonexistent temper. Especially when he had commented on your lack of powers. Which is how you found yourself standing over him, pinning him down with your casted arm, the other holding a dagger to his throat. It would have been amusing that he was calling Loki to save him, had you not been holding an extremely sharp dagger to his throat.

    “Tony, what did you do to upset the healer?” Cap asked calmly. He trusted that you wouldn’t actually hurt Tony. You were still a healer no matter what Tony had done, and he occasionally needed scared into remembering to be nice to people. Loki was still sitting on the couch, reading a book with one hand, sipping on a cup of tea with the other.

    “I don’t know who this is, but it’s not our healer!” Tony exclaimed, trying to get out from under your dagger while you glared at him. “Our healer is a shy little ghost of a girl. This is a bitchy Asgardian changeling who is way stronger than she should be,”

    “You were warned, Stark,” you snarled at him.

    You shrieked in rage and fear when a strong warm muscled arm wrapped around your waist and hauled you off of your feet and away from Tony. “Hush, sister,” Thor told you softly. You continued glaring at Tony, but didn’t fight Thor. Thor took the dagger from your hand and tossed it to Loki, who caught it without looking up from his book. “Brother, aren’t you supposed to be protecting your betrothed?” Thor asked calmly as he set you on the couch next to Loki.

    “There was no need,” Loki replied pleasantly, handing you the dagger back. You smiled at him and kissed his cheek, before you resheathed the dagger. “My lady is perfectly capable of protecting herself. It is not my fault shell-head antagonized her after he was warned that she was without her powers and would be extra defensive because she is injured.” Everyone glared at Tony. It was one thing if he was just making stupid jokes. It was another if he’d been warned against making stupid jokes and had done so anyway.

    “Tony, maybe you shouldn’t piss off Y/N,” Nat commented as she brought you a plate of breakfast. You gave her a smile and thanked her, especially when you saw that it was a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Tony stormed off, pouting that no one was taking his side even though he’d had a dagger to his throat. “Sorry, Loki, Clint only made enough pancakes to appease the angry healer,” Nat added when Loki looked sad that he hadn’t gotten any pancakes. You offered him a bite off of your fork. He grinned and you shared the plate of pancakes companionably. Wisely, no one commented on your change in mood.

    “These are even better than normal pancakes,” Loki told you delightedly, making you laugh at his glee over something to simple as pancakes. “They’re dessert and breakfast.” Desserts were one of Loki’s weaknesses.

    “I’ll have to show you how to make them sometime,” you replied.

    “Chocolate always works,” Clint commented softly enough that you could pretend you hadn’t heard him. Instead of replying, you finished your half of the pancakes you were sharing with Loki and sipped on the healing tea he’d given you.

    Somehow you ended up lying on the couch, your head in Loki’s lap and your feet in Thor’s, a blanket draped over you, never feeling as safe as you did with your boys. You were half-watching, half-dozing while they tried to kill each other in some kind of video game.

    “See? She’s perfectly reasonable when you aren’t antagonizing her,” Cap commented when Tony dared to come back into the room. Everyone else jumped to agree that he needed to play nice with the healer.


	36. Chapter 36

    You were ecstatic the day your cast came off. It happened to coincide with the day Fury let Loki off the hook on his house arrest. The second your cast was off you ignored the doctor’s warning to take it easy and went to glomp Loki, running the fingers of your right hand through his hair. He laughed and swung you around. “I’m trying to tell you to take it easy on that arm,” the doctor grumbled. You and Loki both put on polite expressions to listen to her, but she sighed and gave up when she realized that neither of you were actually listening and insisted she’d tell Bruce what you were supposed to do instead.

    Thor grabbed you both by the back of your shirts to stop you from escaping the tower to find an adventure the second you could. “Don’t forget we have to return to Asgard tomorrow,” he told you both when you stopped to look at him and see what he wanted.

    “Thor, I’ve been studying for the trip for two months straight,” you whined. “I just got my cast off and Loki’s finally off house arrest. We’re going out tonight,” you informed him. You had even changed into a dress for the occasion. Thor just sighed and mumbled something unflattering, calling you children again. “If we were being children, we’d go to dinner and movie in our costumes,” you reminded him with a glint of mischief in your eyes.

    “That does sound like fun, witchling,” Loki added innocently. Thor sighed.

    “Don’t you dare. You know we are supposed to keep a low profile,”

    “Fine,” you pouted. Thor gave you a look, like he didn’t believe you. You grinned and stood up on your toes to kiss his cheek. “See you later,” you promised. You took Loki’s hand again and left with him before anyone else could stop you.

    *

    The next morning after breakfast, you used magic to change into the lovely blue Asgardian dress and the darker blue cloak that went over it. “Why can’t I go in my armor?” you whined at Loki again as he and Thor used their respective powers to change into their Asgardian clothes too. The floor-length dress you wore was not designed for combat.

    Loki rolled his eyes at you over dramatically and answered overly patiently. “Darling, we’ve been over this. You’re presenting as a sorceress, not a warrior. You’re a healer and the people will expect to see you as such,”

    “And healers do not dress like Lady Sif,” you grumbled the rest of the argument, but didn’t argue with the logic. He was right. You knew he was right. It was his culture after all. Besides, you could summon your armor at will if you really needed it. You were still going to miss pants...

    “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Loki asked you again.

    “We don’t have much of a choice. Besides, this is just a ceremony to acknowledge the betrothal and announce the official start of the year and a day of courtship before the official wedding,” you recited. You’d been over this quite a few times already. “We can go through the ceremony, continue to live our lives. The year and a day is intended to make sure the match will work. As for after that...” you shrugged. “We’ll jump off that bridge when we get to it.” You still weren’t sure you were ok with finding out that not only were you Asgardian, but also betrothed to the prince of Asgard. It was a lot of news very quickly. You had decided to just take things as they came, one day of love and joy with Loki at a time.

    “We will jump off that bridge?” Loki asked, unfamiliar with the expression. You laughed.

    “It’s a bad Earth idiom. Please don’t learn English from me,” you continued laughing.

    “Thank you for going through this,” Loki whispered against your hair when the laughter died.

    “Anything for you,” you replied and kissed him lightly.

    “Come along, children. Heimdall is waiting for us,” Thor grumbled.

    You, Loki, and Thor said your goodbyes to the others, promised to be safe, and return soon, and finally made your way downstairs to where the Bifrost could safely be opened. Loki wrapped an arm firmly around you. “Travel by Bifrost is an experience,” he explained. You didn’t think it was dangerous, but Loki held you tightly against his side anyway. “And you are not used to travelling this way yet, witchling,” he added. You’d only been on the Bifrost twice.

    Thor raised his hammer and called to Heimdall. The Bifrost appeared around you and you clutched onto Loki, forgetting for a moment just how disconcerting it was to fly along the rainbow bridge. It only lasted for a moment before you stepped into the room with Heimdall and his giant sword.

    “Welcome back to Asgard,” he greeted you all. Thor and Loki both inclined their heads politely and you offered him a small curtsy, the exact depth due to his station. Loki had been drilling you on curtsies for weeks. That was the bonus of a boyfriend who spent time as a girl and had all of his life. He knew perfectly well how to function as a female at court.

    “Thank you, Heimdall,” you all answered him. He looked impressed that you had used Asgardian instead of English. You gave him a grin in reply. Loki offered you his arm in escort and you placed your hand on his arm so the three of you could leave the Bifrost chamber to head to the palace. There were two horses waiting for you.

    “Why can’t we teleport?” you whined at Loki.

    “Because the people need to see their princes return,” Thor replied overly patiently this time. “We will have to teach you to ride soon,” he commented when he caught your expression at the giant hoofed creatures.

    “Not a common activity in the middle of the city,” you grumbled, but didn’t pause on the way to the horses. Loki swung up into the saddle of his horse gracefully, the movement obviously well practiced. You stuck your tongue out at him. “Showoff,”

    He reached down a hand to you. You clasped it automatically. “No, this is showing off,” he commented with his Cheshire cat grin and hauled you up in front of him effortlessly. You shrieked and giggled at his antics as he wrapped his arms firmly around you, holding you safely across his lap.

    “That is showing off,” you agreed. He kissed the top of your head in reply. “Aren’t I supposed to ride behind you?” you asked. That’s how you’d expected this would work.

    “Were you used to riding, especially side saddle, which is what you would need to do while wearing a full-length dress, yes you would ride behind me, however, this is safer,” he replied. “Plus, I enjoy you in my lap,” he whispered in your ear, making you blush.

    The trip to the palace was much calmer than the headlong gallop you’d taken last time while you were hiding your presence. Thor and Loki strolled the horses, waving and nodding to the people, letting them see their princes had returned. You were uncomfortable with the attention and tried to convince yourself it was just for Thor and Loki, but you heard the whispers of ‘Sigyn’ through the crowds too and saw how the people reacted when Loki did little things like kiss your hair or settle his arm more firmly around you. They noticed the little things and the change in the usually sullen quiet prince.

    Servants met you at the palace gates to take the horses. Thor dismounted first and reached up to hand you down from the saddle. He lifted you effortlessly down to your feet. “Thanks, Thor,” you replied as you straightened out your skirts. Loki swung down as gracefully as he’d swung into the saddle. Your hand was on his arm as you walked into the palace and through the familiar halls of Thor’s and Loki’s childhood.

    The first thing you did was present yourself to Odin and Frigga and announce your return. The boys bowed and you dipped into the proper curtsy. Thor as the eldest made the official announcement to Odin that you all had returned for a visit and Odin welcomed you all. Frigga stepped down from her place to hug her sons. You stepped back a pace to let them have their moment. You saw Loki’s happiness at the hug from his mother, for all that he was adopted. He may hate Odin for the things he had done in the past, but he would always love Frigga and saw her as his real mother, no matter what he said.

    “Welcome back to Asgard, Sigyn,” Frigga greeted you with a polite formal nod once she had hugged both of her sons.

    You dipped yet another curtsy. “Thank you, your majesty,” you replied in proper formal Asgardian. You had been practicing.

    She and her sons spoke for awhile, catching up on things they’d all missed. Finally, she added. “Loki, Sigyn has been given the suite across the hall from yours, if you would like to show her the way. I’m sure you would all like to freshen up from your travels.” You all knew a dismissal when you heard one. The boys both kissed Frigga’s hand before they left.

    “Lady Sigyn,” Loki said to you with a smile, offering you his hand. You placed your hand in his and he lifted it to his lips to place a soft kiss on your knuckles. He smiled softly and placed your hand on his arm so he could escort you through the halls of the palace.

    “He loves her truly,” you heard Frigga comment softly enough that all three of you could pretend you hadn’t.


	37. Chapter 37

    Loki and Thor both relaxed once you all were out of sight of their parents. “That was Mother’s subtle way of telling us to go play somewhere else and annoy other people until dinner,” Loki explained, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

    “So what shall we do instead of bothering your parents?” you teased him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Loki just held up three fingers, then dropped one, then another, then the last.

    The second the last finger dropped: “Thor! You have returned!” came a booming voice you vaguely recognized as one of the Warriors Three, though you couldn’t remember which one he was. The three of them and Lady Sif were sauntering toward you.

    “Friends!” Thor boomed in reply, his face puppy-excited.

    “That is why Mother wanted us to go play somewhere else. Thor’s friends are quite loud.” Loki whispered in your ear. Thor greeted his friends with hugs all around, and a kiss on the hand for Lady Sif.

    “So is Thor,” you replied with a grin. You often made fun of Thor’s booming ways.

    “Loki, you can’t escape with your lovely lady before you say hello,” the blond warrior called before you and Loki could sneak away. That had totally been your plan. You wouldn’t mind spending more time with Lady Sif, she was interesting at least, but you had been intending to sneak away with Loki. You weren’t so sure about the warrior boys.

    “My apologies, Sigyn. The introductions were not done properly the last time you were here,” Thor drew everyone’s attention to you, so you extra couldn’t hide somewhere quiet with Loki.

    “We were kinda busy hiding the fact that I was in the palace last time we were here,” you reminded him softly. You were going to have to get used to all of the attention soon.

    “These are my friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three: Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg,” Thor spoke around you, wisely not discussing your last trip here in too much detail. It hadn’t ended well. “Gentlemen, this is Lady Sigyn, Loki’s official betrothed as of tomorrow evening’s ceremony.” Each of the warrior boys stepped forward to kiss your hand. You weren’t sure what to make of them, but they seemed nice enough. Loki wrapped a possessive arm around your shoulders. You leaned up to kiss his cheek, which seemed to reassure him, and made him smile. His smile seemed concerning to the warrior boys.

    “Sif, it’s good to see you again,” you greeted her with a smile. You knew you liked her. She’d helped you with Loki the last time you were here.

    “And you, Sigyn,” she replied. She gave a wicked grin to the boys. “If you’d like, I can teach you some new tricks while you’re here,” she flourished her blade, which extended into a spear, before she spun it back to a dagger and resheathed it.

    “I’d like that very much,” you replied with an equally wicked grin. All of the boys looked concerned, except Loki, who knew you better. Loki just kissed the top of your head with a grin. You gave him a mischievous grin and pulled him over to the others. “Stand together, you guys,” you told them. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and once everyone was together, used magic to hold it and snap the picture of the group. You reached up and grabbed your phone from the air, turning it so everyone could see the picture you’d taken.

    “Two questions,” Loki started while Sif and the warrior boys stared at the picture in wonder and awe. You looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “First, how do you have pockets?”

    You laughed. “I conjured the dress. Of course I included pockets.” You weren’t going to have a purse here and didn’t want to have to conjure everything you needed all the time.

    Loki inclined his head, accepting that answer. “Second, why did you bring you phone? You know it doesn’t work here,”

    It was true, your phone got no reception. “To take pictures. I thought it would be fun. Stark made the battery life like a week, so it shouldn’t run out of juice while we’re here.”

    “Sig, do you have a picture of our friends on there?” Thor asked excitedly. You nodded and flipped through the pictures on your phone until you came up with a picture of the group. The most recent one was the picture from your high school graduation. You handed the phone to Thor so he could show his friends and tell them all about his Earth friends.

    You hadn’t noticed while you were talking with the others, but you had ended up strolling through the halls with them and ended up in a comfortably sized chamber filled with food and comfortable couches. They all started settling on the couches and you realized this must be their equivalent of a living room. Thor’s couch was in the middle of all of his friends. Sif sat with him comfortably. Fandal and Hogun shared a couch and Volstagg and his giant plate of food shared one. Loki settled catlike on the last couch near the bookshelves, just apart from the others. He was settled so he took up the entire couch as he lounged. “Ahem,” you told him, realizing that his sprawling on the couch had been automatic from years of curling up here.

    “Sorry,” he said sheepishly and moved his legs so you could join him.

    “Maybe I should’ve just sat on you,” you laughed at him and settled next to him on the couch, slipping off your shoes and curling your legs up next to you, laying your head on his shoulder.

    “I would not have had a problem with that,” he whispered so only you could hear him. You leaned up to kiss him in reply.

    You listened to the warriors tell tales of their adventures for awhile curled in Loki’s arms. The warrior boys and Sif all kept looking over at you and Loki.  They were obviously disconcerted by his change in demeanor in your presence and with your love.  They'd never seen him like this before. 

    Everything was going great until an alarm started sounding through the palace. One of the guards rushed into the room. “There’s a group of bandits with some kind of monster attacking a village outside of the city,” he announced.

    You all jumped to your feet. Thor raised Mjolnir to summon his battle armor. The warrior boys and Sif were already dressed for battle. You and Loki used magic to summon your own armor. Sif and the warriors stared. They weren’t expecting you to have armor too.

    “It’s useless to remind you that you are a healer and should remain here and leave this to the warriors, isn’t it?” Loki asked you, obviously hoping you’d be reasonable for once.

    “Duh,” you replied. “Besides, you’re going,”

    “ _I_ am a warrior, for all that my main skills lie in sorcery,” he sighed, knowing he didn’t have time to argue. On Earth he wouldn’t have bothered, but here there were plenty of warriors. Asgard was a very warrior-centric nation. “Very well, but if you are injured, I shall be quite cross with you,” he replied with a soft smile. He took your hand and you followed the others down to the stables. The horses were already saddled and ready. Loki swung into the saddle of his while the others were doing the same. He offered you an arm, and swung you up behind him. Your armor included leggings, which totally counted as pants in this case. You wrapped your arms tightly around Loki’s waist. “I won’t let you fall,” Loki told you when your grip tightened. The ride to the village was a breakneck gallop and you were glad that all you had to do was hold on to Loki and not fall off the horse.

    The second the horses stopped at the village, you dismounted, scrambling less than gracefully from the horse’s back. If you were going to spend time here, you really were going to have to learn how to ride on your own. The village was a disaster. There were bandits everywhere and some kind of giant rock monster destroying everything in its path.

    “You guys take the bandits. I’ll get the big one,” Thor boomed the order. The warrior boys and Sif rushed to obey. You and Loki summoned daggers at the same time and headed into the fray. You stayed close to Loki, fighting back to back with him against the bandits. You stuck with daggers, saving your magic for healing after the battle. Loki fought mostly with illusions, bolts of magic, and occasionally his daggers. He’d also had a thousand years of training more than you had and was a much more efficient warrior. You hadn’t truly seen the grace he fought with until you saw him fighting other trained warriors. Even sparring with Thor hadn’t been like this.

    After Thor took down the giant rock monster, the battle ended fairly quickly. Taking a cue from something Loki had said earlier, you used magic to summon your Asgardian dress again, fading your armor away, and making sure your betrothal necklace was in plain sight. Loki nodded his approval when he saw and realized what you were doing.

    You made your way to the villagers. They were nervous about your intentions, you saw it immediately. You were a stranger, but obviously a Lady, obviously of the court from your dress and your betrothal to the prince. So you went to the children first. They were braver than the adults on some things, for all that the injured ones were crying in pain. You smiled and soothed them and promised everything would be ok as you knelt in the dirt and ruins of the village to heal each child that had been hurt in the attack. The villagers all relaxed when they saw what you were doing. You sought out each injured villager to heal them while Loki followed a pace behind you, acting for all the world as nothing more than a lady’s guard.

    Finally, a good deal of power later, all of the villagers were healed. You turned to Sif next, healing her couple cuts and bruises, then the warriors three, who all had a handful of cuts and bruises, though somehow Fandal had gotten stabbed. The others were teasing him in the same manner that Clint got teased back home for getting shot. Thor and Loki were last, the princes refused to be seen until all of the villagers and warriors were tended. They also had no more than a couple scratches between them, so it was no trouble to leave them until the end.

    There were cheers and applauding from the villagers and they bowed you from the village. Some of the palace staff would be by to help them rebuild, but there was a lot of work and pain you had saved everyone by doing all of the healings. You knew the story of this adventure would probably beat you back to the palace.

    You were beyond drained, doing that many healings in that short of a time. Some of the villagers had been really injured too, but you kept your back straight and didn’t let the villagers see any weakness from you. The royal family had to be seen by the people as strong, even if they were not. “Can you ride?” Loki asked softly as you walked back to the horses. You were still being watched. You nodded.

    “I’ll manage,” you replied.

    “Well done today, witchling,” he kissed the top of your head. “The people will love you even more for your generosity and willingness to heal all of the villagers. Not everyone would have done that.”

    “Very well done!” Thor boomed. Loki swung into the saddle and hauled you up behind him effortlessly. The movement looked simply like a courteous gesture to all of the villagers. You felt more unsettled riding side saddle behind him, but wrapped your arms around his waist and knew he wouldn’t let you fall. You laid your head against his back and the group started back to the palace much more calmly than the breakneck speed that you took to get here.

    You must’ve dozed off on the ride back, because the next thing you knew, Loki was carefully prying your arms from around him and Thor was lifting you down from the horse’s back. Thor set you on your feet gently. “Thanks,” you told him, steadying now that you were more awake. He nodded and stepped back, you knew then that you weren’t safe yet from prying eyes. It was your first day here and you needed to present as a worthy member of the court, even though you’d just taxed your powers healing an entire village. Loki offered you his arm.

    “Lady, let me escort you to your chambers so you can freshen up after the battle,” Loki bid you courteously.

    “Thank you,” you replied, laying your hand on his arm. He led you swiftly to a hallway you recognized from your last visit. His formal demeanor relaxed here, when you were in the family wing and safely away from prying eyes. He wrapped an arm around your waist and let you lean on him as you walked.

    “That was a warrior’s work today, darling. I know how much magic it took to heal an entire village,” As you were walking, you recognized the door to his suite, it was one of the few places you’d seen last time you were here. Loki led you to the door across the hall from his. “There should be a hot bath waiting for you. One of the maids will wake you for dinner. You can get some rest until then, witchling,” he told you softly and kissed your forehead.

    “Thank you,” you told him wearily. You could hear the exhaustion in your voice.

    “No, thank you, love. You’re doing splendidly in making a good impression here, and I know how difficult it is. Thank you for doing it. For going through the effort for me,” his voice was loving, but had an edge of bruised to it. He hadn’t actually expected you to work so hard to make a good impression, to try to fit in among his people, among yours too, though you’d lived all of your years on Earth.

    “I love you, Loki. I mean it when I say that I would do anything for you,” you reminded him. “And I would have healed those villagers whether you’d been there or not, whether it would be a good impression on the people or not. You know that.”

    “I know, now go get some rest, stubborn little witchling,” he bid you. After a kiss, you ducked into your suite to do just that.


	38. Chapter 38

    The suite was gorgeous and perfect, soft and comfortable with plenty of bookshelves all over. It had obviously been decorated for you. You found the hot bath waiting for you like Loki said it would be. Once you were clean you fell into the overly soft bed to recharge for a few hours.

    The maids did wake you for dinner and insisted on helping you dress and doing your hair. You couldn’t figure out how to politely tell them that you were perfectly capable of managing on your own. Especially since you had magic. You’d have to ask Loki how to get rid of them later.

    Loki was waiting outside of your suite and you hugged him when you saw him. “Did you sleep well, witchling?” he asked with a smile.

    “The beds are so soft,” you purred. It had been the best you’d slept in maybe ever. He chuckled.

    “That they are. Mother said she had a collection of books that she thought might interest you sent to your suite,”

    “It’s full of books!” you told him. You grabbed his hand and tried to pull him inside so he could see. He planted his feet.

    “We must pretend to care about propriety until after tomorrow’s ceremony,” he reminded you.

    “Propriety is so tedious,” you grumbled, but let him lead you to dinner instead of showing off your suite.

    “It is pretense, love,” he reminded you softly.

    Dinner was a giant feast of an affair. At least you could sit between Thor and Loki and talk about familiar things with them. Frigga kept glancing over at the three of you and smiling at how well you were all getting along. She also made a comment during the evening about your impressive healing abilities for managing to heal an entire village in one afternoon. That got you a lot of credit from the court.

    There was dancing after the feast. Thor stole you for the first dance, despite Loki’s protests. You laughed and swung with him to the cheerful rowdy song. It was a wonderful evening of dancing. Each of the Warriors Three claimed you for a dance. Fandal was by far the best of the three of them. Finally, you were swung into Loki’s arms for a dance with him. It was even one of the more formal court dances that he preferred. He moved with such grace and joy that it warmed your heart to see him so happy.

    As soon as you could, you and Loki escaped from the frivolity. He showed you to one of the gardens. “This one is my favorite,” he told you as you strolled arm in arm through the paved walkways between the flowers. He summoned a cape for you and draped it over your shoulders.

    “It’s gorgeous,” you told him, admiring all of the foreign flowers.

    “It is even better for this,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He darted between a gap in two hedges, pulling you with him. The gap couldn’t be seen from the path and was barely big enough for you to slip through. Inside was a little alcove with a bench, surrounded by tall hedges. Loki pulled you to him and kissed you deeply. You wrapped your arms around his neck automatically. You kissed in the alcove for a long time, stopping and hiding your giggles when you heard people passing by the gap in the hedges. No one could find you here to interrupt your fun.

    *

    The next morning you found Sif at breakfast. “Morning, Sig,” she greeted you.

    “Morning, Sif,” you replied, wary as to why she was so excited this early in the morning. Loki looked equally wary.

    “I’ll show you some tricks after breakfast. There’s nothing for you to do until the ceremony tonight anyway.” You nodded and sat down with Loki at the table with Sif, the warrior boys, and Thor to eat a quick breakfast.

    “Loki, are you sure you want your lady to train in weapons with Lady Sif?” Fandal teased.

    “My desires are irrelevant here,” Loki replied, sounding put upon. “Besides, my lady is a healer at heart. Even training with Lady Sif will not be able to change her nature,” Loki kissed the top of your head before you could grumble at him that you were in the room and could hear him.

    You used magic to summon your armor, kissed Loki goodbye, and went with Sif to the training yard. She showed you a lot of dagger tricks and worked with you for most of the morning. There were other women practicing as well, so you weren’t alone, but they also seemed impressed that the healer was learning a bit of the warrior’s arts as well.

    *

    All too soon you had to get ready for the ceremony. You were dreading it, but at least you’d be with Loki through the whole thing. The maids helped you dress again and did your hair, despite your ever so polite protests that you could do it yourself. Apparently that would be unseemly and they ever so politely told you no and insisted on doing it for you. The dress was gorgeous, dark green with golden sparkles throughout.

    The maids walked you down to the throne room. Loki would meet you down here right before the ceremony began. Thor was already waiting in his formal finery. “Lady Sigyn,” he greeted you with a bow. You offered him a curtsy in reply, which seemed so strange and formal that you instantly gave up on formality and hugged him instead. He laughed and returned the friendly familiar hug. “You look lovely, little sister. Loki’s colors suit you.” You realized that you were dressed in the colors Loki usually wore.

    “I’m nervous, Thor,” you admitted softly. To anyone else, you never would have dared to express your fears or doubts, but Thor had adopted you as a sister on the day he rescued you and brought you to the tower.

    “It will be fine. You have been preparing for this for months. The people love you. Loki loves you with everything that he is. I have never seen him so happy in all of my days. And you will have a year and a day before you must stand before Odin again,” he added with a smile that was supposed to be reassuring, but instead was terrifying.

    “Brother, kindly unhand my beloved,” Loki’s voice came from behind you. He wasn’t jealous, just amused. You let go of Thor and turned to face Loki, who was also in his more formal finery, even including his golden horned helmet. You were glad you didn’t have to wear anything so ridiculous on your head.

    Thor kissed your hand, clapped Loki on the shoulder, and then made his way to his place for the ceremony.

    Loki bowed over your hand to kiss it. “You look lovely, witchling,” he told you with a warm smile.

    “You clean up nicely yourself,” you teased. He laughed in reply. You both still had smiles from laughter when the doors to the throne room were opened by the guards for you to proceed. Loki held your hand in formal escort and the two of you made your way to Odin’s throne together. You held his hand a little too tightly out of nerves, but he didn’t let it show if it bothered him.

    Odin banged his staff on the floor for silence as soon as you were in place. He was standing in front of his throne with Frigga at his side, Thor stood on the stair below them. You and Loki moved so you were facing each other, your hands held. “Today we acknowledge a commitment made nearly a score years ago. Today’s is the first step towards fulfilling the commitment that will bind the House of Odin with the House of Njord. Loki...Odinson” you caught the hesitation and slight stumble over Loki’s name. It just sounded like formality to most, though, but you heard the stumble for what it was. “My son, will you honor the commitment you made to take Freya’s daughter as your bride?” Odin demanded formally.

    “I will,” Loki replied, smiling warmly and reassuringly at you. This wasn’t a wedding, just a betrothal ceremony.

    “Sigyn Freyadottir, will you accept the commitment made on your behalf to take Loki as your husband?”

    “I will,” you answered, not looking away from Loki.

    Odin nodded to Frigga who stepped forward with a golden cord in her hand. She wrapped it gently around your and Loki’s joined hands.

    It was she who spoke next. “As your hands are bound together now, so your lives and spirits are joined in the commitment of love and trust. For always you hold in your own hands the fate of this union. Above you are stars and below you is earth. Like stars your love should be a constant source of light, and like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow.

    May these hands be blessed this day. May they always hold each other. May they have the strength to hang on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their wondrous love. May they build a relationship founded in love, and rich in caring. May these hands be healer, protector, shelter, and guide for each other.

    Let your year and a day of courtship officially begin on this day. We look forward to gathering again at the end of that time to celebrate your union in marriage. I bid you now to seal your commitment to this courtship with a kiss,” Frigga ended her speech warmly. You could hear the love she had for Loki and how delighted she was to see him so happy. Loki leaned down and you met him halfway, for a very perfect kiss to end the ceremony. The kiss was so perfect you could almost drown out the cheers from the gathered crowd. Almost.


	39. Chapter 39

    The applause from the kiss died down and Frigga removed the cord from your hands. Loki took your hand again in escort and the two of you led the procession to the feast in your honor. By the two of you, you really meant Loki, since you still didn’t know your way around the palace.

    The feast was huge. You and Loki had your own table right in the middle of everything. He told you what each of the dishes were when they were served to you and you spent the entire meal in jovial conversation about the latest books you had been reading. It felt normal, despite the atmosphere and the fact that you had just been through a betrothal ceremony in a strange land.

    The second the meal was over the dancing and drinking began. You had already had more of the Asgardian mead than you probably should have, it was so delicious and there had been so many toasts in your honor.

    Odin was among the first to depart after a final congratulations to the two of you. You heard the hitch in his voice. He was still displeased with Loki for some reason, though you couldn’t understand why. Especially in this case, Loki was _literally_ doing the thing he was supposed to and agreeing to marry you for the Asgardian politics.

    “Shall we dance?” Loki asked after Odin had left. Frigga was still there, watching her children and the court from the sidelines. She was the one who smirked and made a gesture to the musicians when Loki stood and offered you a hand to escort you to the dance floor.

    You heard the familiar first notes of For the Dancing and the Dreaming and thanked all the gods yet again that Thor had made you learn the steps. Especially when you and Loki were the only two who walked out onto the dance floor for it. The introduction was played again while you took your positions. You saw Thor on the sideline taking pictures on your phone. You smiled up at Loki with love in your eyes and your heart as you took the position for the dance. His pose and expression mirrored yours. The dance and singing started and the crowd listened to Loki’s voice, mesmerized by his singing and graceful dancing. You heard the gasps when you sang the response. No one had been expecting you to know the words, having been raised on Midgard. You caught a glimpse of Frigga as you twirled in the steps of the dance with Loki. She was so overjoyed by the pair of you.

    She actually came out on the floor to the pair of you when the dance had ended. “That dance was lovely, darlings.” Loki smiled warmly and hugged her, kissing her hair.

    “Thank you, Mother,” he replied as he let her go. “For everything.” She reached up and touched his cheek fondly. No more words were needed between them.

        Frigga left much later that evening after a final goodbye to her sons. You actually got her to stand with them so you could take a picture of the three of them. You had to show her the picture on your phone and she was delighted to see the Midgardian technology.

    You danced that night with not only Loki, and Thor, but other members of the court who claimed you for a dance. Unfortunately, they also claimed that they needed to provide you with a drink. Loki saved you from as many as he could, reminding them you were raised on Midgard, but he couldn’t save you from everything. You had a higher tolerance than a human or you would’ve been down for the count early in the evening. As it was, it seemed the goal of the evening was to get both you and Loki as drunk as possible. At least that seemed like the game. Especially when the liquor that had gotten nicknamed Excelsior came out. Even Thor tried to protest that, but cups of the stuff were forced into your and Loki’s hands. You knew it was a stupid decision, but you were already tipsy enough not to care. You touched your glass to Loki’s. He grinned at your silliness, tapped your glass with his and you both downed the clear liquor which didn’t have a taste you could identify, but somehow tasted like the warmth of a campfire and the light of a summer’s afternoon.

    After a final dance, Loki finally took pity on you. “I think you have had enough excitement, witchling,” he told you when you swayed one too many times during the final dance. You were pleasantly warm and very, very drunk.

    The crowd cheered when Loki lifted you off of your feet and over his shoulder despite your shriek of protest. The court had succeeded in their game and propriety was apparently to be damned.

    “Loki, I’m fine. You can put me down,” you protested, squirming to try to get him to set you down, or at least carrying you more comfortably.

    “You are no such thing,” he replied firmly. He waved to Thor, who saluted Loki back with his mug of ale.

    “What happened to propriety?” you asked him grumpily, accepting your fate since you couldn’t think clearly enough to come up with a way out of it.

    “No longer a concern,” he replied pleasantly. You’d have to ask him why when you were more coherent. “If you don’t try to stab me, I will carry you more comfortably.” That sounded like a good idea. “Also, kindly do not try to use magic. The results under that much alcohol are not pleasant, and Mother will be displeased if the family wing gets blown up again.” You giggled at that image. He shifted you so you were cradled in his arms instead of draped over his shoulder. You wisely did not stab him for insisting on carrying you, even though you were perfectly capable of walking yourself. The world spinning had no relevance on the fact that you could walk on your own. None whatsoever.

    Loki took you to his suite instead of yours. “Loki, my room’s over there,” you gestured across the hall.

    “Yes, very wise, darling, however, this suite is mine. You are in no shape to be on your own.” You didn’t have an argument for that. He set you on your feet next to his bed.

    “Why aren’t you drunk?” you whined at him. You were very mature while drunk. Not at all silly or extra cuddly. Not at all.

    “Because I am a thousand years older than you and have been drinking that stuff all of my life. It takes more than a glass of the Excelsior and a few cups of mead to take me out, in case you’ve forgotten,” he explained patiently as he turned you to help you out of your dress. You remembered that you were supposed to protest, but couldn’t remember why. His hands were gentle and soon the dress was sliding down your body. “Don’t fear, witchling,” he bid you softly when it got through your drunk brain that you were naked in front of him. He helped you pull one his tunics over your head to wear as pajamas, perfect gentleman that he was he would never take advantage, and you were in no shape to consent to anything more than a goodnight kiss. You were confused why he didn’t just use magic to change both of your clothes, but realized he was probably tipsier than he wanted to admit, and was keeping his own advice of not mixing magic and alcohol.

    It seemed an instant later that you were tucked into his bed. He joined you a moment later and let you lay your head on his chest so you could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat.


	40. Chapter 40

    You woke to Loki’s soft noises and the shifting in his body that told you the second you were awake that he was trapped in a nightmare. You shook him gently. “Loki, wake up, it’s a dream, darling,” you bid him gently, as if that would actually work. It make it worse. He screamed in pain and terror. “Loki!” you called again. He didn’t wake. You summoned your magic and touched your fingertips to his temples, intending to help using magic, though mental magic wasn’t your specialty. Instead, his much stronger telepathy grabbed you and drew you into his nightmare.

     _You were on a strange, dark, barren planet. Wherever this place was, it definitely was not Earth. Loki was on the ground in front of a cloaked figure and looked like he had been thrown there. “You were promised more than pain if you did not bring us the Tesseract,” the cloaked figure snarled at Loki. You could feel Loki’s terror from where you were. You ran to Loki and knelt over him defensively, defending an attack by the cloaked figure._

     _“Sigyn! No, get out of here,” Loki begged you, so lost and terrified, moreso now that you were here and in danger._

     _“I’ll never leave you, love,” you replied firmly. You grabbed his arm to haul him to his feet. “We’re in this together. Now let’s take care of this dream together.” You offered him a glowing blue hand. He managed a small smile and placed his green glowing hand in yours._

     _“Together,” he said softly and you felt the word heal something inside him._

     _A moment of power later the dream exploded around you, blasted away by your combined powers._

    You blinked quickly as became aware again, back in your own body. You were still kneeling over Loki, your fingers on his temples. You smirked at him and kissed his nose. He laughed in reply, the sound driving away the last of the nightmare. “Silly little witchling,”

    “I’m just glad you’re ok. I was worried when I couldn’t get you to wake,” you told him, moving your hands to stroke his hair. You laid back beside him, using his arm as a pillow as you continued stroking his hair. He kissed the top of your head.

    “Thank you for your help,” he told you softly.

    “Was that the man who made you attack New York?” you asked him equally softly, gently, willing to drop the question if it was too upsetting.

    He nodded. “I ended up there after falling into the abyss off of the Bifrost...” his eyes were clouded by bad memories. You shifted to kiss him. He purred and relaxed when you did. You didn’t need the rest of the story or him reliving those nightmares.

    “Your Highness?” came the voice of a young woman from the other room of the suite. You squeaked in surprise and yanked the blanket up to make sure your chest was covered, though you weren’t indecent. Loki chuckled at you and kissed the top of your head.

    “It’s just a maid,” he told you softly before raising his voice to address her. “What is it?” he called, sitting up in the bed and stroking your hair so you’d stop making those pathetic embarrassed noises. The maid stepped into the room and sank into a low curtsy.

    “My apologies for the interruption, sir,” she spoke quickly, used to Loki’s quick temper when he was interrupted. She didn’t move from the curtsy or wobble, which was impressive to you, since you’d only learned how to curtsy properly a couple of months ago. “The Queen has requested the presence of Lady Sigyn as soon as she is awake,”

    “Thank you. Please tell my Lady Mother that we will be there shortly,” Loki replied with a regal inclination of his head, his tone careful and formal. The maid fled to report to the queen.

    “I guess we have to get up then,” you whined. Loki chuckled, melting from proper courtly prince to your friend and love in an instant. He kissed the top of your head.

    “Yes, we do, witchling.” You sighed heavily, but climbed out of the plush comfortable bed.

    “Thank you, by the way, for last night,” you flushed a little at how drunk you’d been and your current outfit of Loki’s tunic. You used magic to change into an Asgardian style dress, though with pockets because you really liked having your phone, despite that you had no service here. You grabbed Loki’s hairbrush to try to tame the mess your hair had become.

    Loki took it gently from your hand. “Allow me, darling,” he bid you softly. He made short work of your hair, his fingers practiced and gentle as he braided it into the proper style. When he was finished, you turned to give him a kiss.

    *

    Frigga was waiting for the two of you in her private chambers. “Good morning, Mother,” Loki greeted her brightly when she opened the door. He gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. You snapped a quick picture. He was adorable in this mood.

    “Good morning, darling. I hope the maid did not wake you too early,” her voice was gentle and kind, as usual.

    “Not at all. I was already awake,”

    “Of course you were,” she laughed and let the two of you in the room. You dipped the proper curtsy and murmured the proper greeting. Frigga waved your gesture away and hugged you instead.

    “No need for such formalities, darling,” she bid you as Loki laughed. You glared at him over your shoulder. He was the one who had insisted on learning all of the formalities for the last two months straight.

    “The maid did indicate that you wished to see Sigyn this morning?” Loki’s tone made the statement a question. He moved to the small table and chairs in the room where there was a breakfast set up and pulled out Frigga’s chair and then yours.

    “I did wish to see you, Sigyn,” Frigga told you conversationally over breakfast. “But we will discuss my son after he is no longer in our company,” she gave Loki a teasing smile while he spluttered indignantly. You hid your laugh behind your cup of tea. “In all seriousness, I wish to see your powers, dear. I know Loki has been instructing you on their use, and I am sure he is a capable teacher, but it is my duty as the master magician of the court...” you nodded your understanding. She had to verify you were taught correctly.

    “Mother...” Loki’s voice was displeased and he was going to protest.

    She held up a hand to silence him. “No harm will come to your lady. No harm came to you when I taught you magic, now did it, darling?”

    He sighed, but didn’t argue any further. “I guess I will have to go annoy Thor while you two are playing with magic without me,” he pouted, making you both laugh at him.

    “Try not to physically fight him this time. Just because you are displeased that I am holding your lady’s attention today does not mean your brother deserves to be stabbed for it,”

    “Fine, I will try to restrain from stabbing Thor...” Loki grumbled, though he was happily enjoying the last of his breakfast dessert. You figured he was the only reason there was dessert at breakfast.

    “Loki...” you spoke up then. Loki smiled at you mischievously in reply.

    “I will only stab him if he deserves it.” You gave him a look. He huffed in reply. “I will only stab him if I can justify to you why he deserved it and have you believe it,” he intoned, rolling his eyes.

    “Good, I hate healing him because you’ve decided he needs stabbing,” you teased him and stuck your tongue out at his spluttering, before you flushed, remembering that you were sitting at breakfast with the queen, who also happened to be his mother.

    She just laughed. “I think you truly have found your match, darling,” she told him kindly. The dishes vanished when breakfast was over. It happened so fast that you couldn’t tell if it was Frigga or Loki who had done it. You suspected Frigga since you knew Loki’s magic so well that you thought you’d be able to feel if it was his. “Go annoy your brother for awhile,” she bid Loki kindly when you were all back on your feet. He grinned at her in reply.

    “Very well, Mother,” he replied and kissed her cheek. He turned to you and leaned down to kiss you. You stood on your toes to meet him halfway. It was a chaste kiss, especially in front of his mother, but he seemed reassured by it somehow. He still hesitated.

    “Go on, silly Trickster. I’m perfectly safe with your mother,”

    “That is what I am afraid of, the two of you alone, witchling,” he replied overly dramatically, but he left you in the care of Frigga, while you both laughed at his antics.

    You and Frigga made your way to the healing wing. You were shy and nervous around her at first, especially alone with the queen, but she was so kind and gentle that you couldn’t help relaxing around her. You did demonstrate your abilities for her and she was pleased with your skill. Her real interests that day were getting to know you, verifying you were a good match for her son, and making sure he was treating you properly. She did show you some new magic Loki hadn’t gotten to teaching you yet, and made sure you had texts focused on healing magic. She was also impressed when she goaded you into sparring against her how very much you fought exactly like her and her son.

    “He taught you well,” she commented, truly impressed.

    “He has,” you agreed.

    You both turned when you heard sounds of intense combat from nearby. Sounds of combat weren’t uncommon around here, but those were controlled. This was the rage of a real battle. At the same moment you both summoned daggers to go see what the commotion was. There was a nearly identical sigh from you both when you saw that Thor and Loki were the ones in the intense battle.

    “What am I going to do with you?” you commented under your breath, wondering how Loki had gotten into this fight this time. Frigga looked concerned, but unsure how to break this up. “I’ve got this,” you told her, forgetting formality in the situation. You rolled up your sleeves and stepped forward to deal with the boys. You waited for your opportunity, then stomped in between them, holding an arm out to each to stop them. Thor backpedaled quickly and Loki froze. “What are you two doing this time?” you grumbled at them.

    “Sig~” Loki protested. You glared at him and he pouted and huffed.

    “You promised not to stab Thor,” you reminded him firmly. You looked Thor over and removed a dagger from his side, healing the wound quickly a moment later.

    “Thank you, sister dear,” Thor replied when the wound was healed, but he was looking sheepish.

    “And what did you do to antagonize him?” you demanded. Loki wouldn’t have broken his word unless Thor had done something. He shuffled his feet.

    “He was telling them about the events after we left Asgard last time we were here,” Loki snarled. Thor had told them about how Loki had left you. Great.

    “Thor!”

    “It was a good story!” he protested. You glared at him. That story would hurt you too, not just be embarrassing for Loki. He seemed to finally realize that. “I apologize. I should not have told that tale...” Once he was chastised, you turned your attention back to Loki.

    “Whatever am I going to do with you?” you sighed at him and healed the bruises he had gotten from the fight.

    “Love me for eternity?” he asked with a small smile, nearly singing the words from the song he loved so dearly. You laughed.

    “Come along, silly Trickster, let’s see if we can keep you out of trouble for a little while,” you took his arm and led him away from Thor, back towards where Frigga was standing watching, evaluating. She looked impressed with how you’d handled them.

    “That was impressively done. It is obvious that you care for both of my sons,” Frigga told you with such pride that it warmed your heart.

    “I do,” you replied simply. “Thor became my brother before I even met Loki,” you added, not sure if she knew that story. She inclined her head. Thor must have told her.

    “Thank you for spending the day with me. I will leave you in my son’s care. I need to spend time with Thor while he is here as well,” Frigga told you with a smile. You nodded in reply.

    “Thank you as well. I look forward to reviewing the texts you sent me.” Loki was silently looking sheepish beside you as you held onto his arm. Frigga reached up to touch his cheek. He took her hand with his free one so he could kiss the back of it. With that, she went to Thor and you had a feeling he was going to be in trouble with his mother for antagonizing Loki.

    “Did you have a good day?” Loki asked as the two of you strolled back into the palace.

    “I did. Frigga was satisfied with my magical knowledge,” you told him simply. He huffed and you knew that wasn’t the answer that he wanted. He wanted to know why you would be talking about him. You stuck your tongue out at his huffing.

    “You are incorrigible,” he replied when you still wouldn’t tell him.

    “I hope you’re not just now figuring that out,” you laughed. He pulled you into an alcove nearby to sneak a few kisses away from the prying eyes of passersby.

    “I love you, my little witchling,” he whispered between kisses.

    “I love you too, silly Trickster,”


	41. Chapter 41

    “So what _did_ you and my Mother discuss all day?” Loki asked more firmly as you both curled on a couch in your sitting room. He had found some new books and scrolls in your room and was in heaven at the new knowledge to find.

    “Seriously, Loki, stop being so paranoid. She wanted to see my powers and get to know my personality. She wanted to make sure I’d be good for you. She loves you, silly Trickster and just wants to make sure you’re happy,” you told him, glancing up from the healing scroll you were perusing. He looked shocked at that. You rolled your eyes. “You can’t be surprised Frigga loves you. She always has. Your being adopted has no bearing on that fact,”

    “But I’m not even Asgardian,” he protested.

    “That has _never_ stopped Frigga or Thor from loving you,” you reminded him patiently.

    “But Odin...”

    “Is an ass,”

    “Don’t let him hear you say that,” Loki laughed.

    You rolled your eyes. “I’m not that stupid. He uses people. You told me that yourself. He means well for the nine realms as a whole, but not for individual people, except for Frigga,” you gave him that point. Odin did care for Frigga, you could see that in every interaction they had. Loki thought over your words and you could see that he was still considering them as he returned to his pouring over the next texts.

    *

    You spent a couple peaceful weeks in Asgard with Loki, Thor, and their friends and family. You walked the gardens with Loki, practiced magic with Loki and Frigga, spent countless hours in the libraries, worked on your combat skills with Loki and Sif, and told stories with Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three.

    “Why can’t I just hide in my room?” you asked Loki, terrified one morning after a few weeks in Asgard. “Or yours. I’m not picky.” You tried to snuggle further in his arms. You were on a strange world without your powers. This was a terrible combination. Why hadn’t you convinced the boys to go home before this happened? Right, Loki wanted you to stay here and prove to the people you were one of them and trusted the court. Except you didn’t. You had felt braver about this plan yesterday when you had your powers.

    “Darling, you know why,” Loki reminded you patiently.

    “I know,” you whined and pouted, but eventually let him convince you to leave the bed and brave the world. He did at least summon a very fancy dagger for you to wear when you did. You strapped the sheath on and tried to look more brave than you felt. Loki summoned his own cloak to wrap around your shoulders. You gave him a questioning look.

    “It’s tradition, witchling,” was all the explanation he gave. He walked you to breakfast, his arm around you, overly protective today. You were grateful for it. He settled you at the table and insisted, again, firmly, but kindly that you had to try to eat something. Thor looked over at those words and gave you a reassuring smile, lifting his mug of ale (how on Earth could he drink ale for breakfast?) in a small salute. He knew what was wrong and was showing his support. You gave him a small nod of appreciation.

    “Is something wrong?” Frigga asked unnecessarily. You flushed and looked at the unappetizing plate of food in front of you. Loki huffed and set a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of his healing tea in front of you instead.

    “Then will you eat something?” he asked when you picked up the tea to sip on it.

    “I’ll try,” you told him softly. He kissed your forehead.

    “My lady is feeling a bit under the weather,” Loki replied automatically. You had a feeling that phrase was only used in this situation.

    “Of course,” Frigga replied knowingly, confirming your suspicion.

    “My sons, I would speak with you,” Odin announced and soon left the room, expecting that Thor and Loki would follow him without complaint. Loki looked shocked that he had been included among Odin’s ‘my sons’. You had heard Odin’s hesitation to use Loki’s original title of Odinson during the ceremony. He had stumbled, not wanting to claim him. Maybe he was thawing out?

    Loki looked over at you, concerned. He had promised to spend the day with you so you’d feel safe. “Go, I will look after her,” Frigga told Loki warmly. You nodded your agreement. Loki gave you a kiss before he followed Thor to see what Odin wanted. “If you eat the cake, I will neglect to tell Loki that you did not eat any real food,” Frigga offered kindly.

    “Deal,” you replied with a smile and proceeded to eat your cake, chatting casually with Frigga. You had gotten more comfortable around her in the last few weeks. You’d spent a lot of time in her company learning magic and listening to stories about Loki from when he was a child, much to his protests.

    “Come, my dear, we can spend the morning in my chambers. Don’t fret, Loki will know where to find you,” Frigga bid you kindly when your tea and cake were gone. You nodded and stood, smoothing out your skirts. Frigga walked next to you companionably, kind and casual, for all that you sensed that her magic was ready. She knew exactly how to make sure you felt safe and you were grateful for it.

    “So, what happened after you left Asgard the last time you were here? I vaguely recall seeing my son in a very compromising situation.” You weren’t surprised Frigga had asked. You’d been waiting for her to. She had done you a favor in letting you escape Asgard with a bound and gagged Loki. You did kind of owe her an explanation.

    So you told her. You told her how Loki left after you got back to Midgard, how you’d let him go, how you saw a vision of the future. Most importantly, you told her how he’d chosen to return. You told her everything because she deserved the entire truth.

    “I had hoped that would not be the path he chose,” Frigga commented sadly.

    “I would not have wished it either, but it was the best path. He didn’t and wouldn’t know what he truly wanted until he knew he had the freedom to make the choice for himself. I would have let him leave forever if that was what he chose. I’m just glad that wasn’t his choice,”

    Frigga smiled fondly at your words and you enjoyed a quiet day reading while she worked on some kind of paperwork that she refused your offer to help with.


	42. Chapter 42

    It was late that afternoon when Frigga began to get worried. No one would ever know just looking at her, but you had gotten to know her quite well in the last few weeks. It was hard to hide any nuance of someone’s personality when you were constantly using magic together, especially when she was the one teaching you.

    “What’s wrong?” you asked, looking up from your book, wondering what had her so worried. A note fluttered onto the desk in front of her with a glimmer of green magic.

    “Loki has finished whatever task Odin set him, but wishes for you to stay here tonight,” Frigga answered as she read the note over.

    You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Like that’s going to happen. Much as I enjoy your presence, Frigga,” you added the last part quickly as you stood and straightened out your skirts. Damn, you hated wearing dresses all the time.

    Frigga just smiled gently. “Of course it will not happen. Odin must have gotten him in a mood again... those two never have seen eye to eye. Make sure you wear Loki’s cloak when you leave, dear. It is tradition, after all. I would suggest checking his chambers for him first.”

    “What is the cloak tradition?” you asked curiously as you settled the cloak back over your shoulders obediently.

    She laughed. “Trust my son to honor the tradition but not bother to explain it. When a gentleman has taken responsibility for a lady’s safety while she is under the weather, he gives her his cloak to wear to show not only her, but everyone who runs into her that she is under his protection. It is unnecessary of course, especially in your case where the entire realm knows you are betrothed to my son. No one would dare harm you. Would you like me to come with you?” she asked.

    You pondered the questions, but shook your head. “No, thank you, but he can’t be upset with you if _I’m_ the only one of us who doesn’t do as he wishes.” You shrugged. “I can put on the heavy gloves and mellow him out again,”

    You saw the light of humor in her eyes. “Yes, I believe you can. Very well. I will be here if you change your mind or need assistance,”

    “Thank you,” you replied before you left her chambers. Loki’s cloak was a comfort around your shoulders, though as Frigga had said, you obviously didn’t _need_ protection, but this was a strange realm filled with only a few people you actually knew. You did follow Frigga’s advice since you couldn’t feel Loki’s presence without your powers and his room was just as good a place to start as any other. It wasn’t a long walk to his suite either, which must have been why Frigga let you go alone. She wouldn’t risk your safety, no matter how safe she said you were.

    You didn’t bother knocking on Loki’s door, just slipped inside. He was pacing his sitting room snarling and fighting to reign in control of his magic and temper. You took off his cloak and set it aside, getting the heavy gloves out to gentle him with. “Can you ever do what I tell you?” he snarled at you when he caught sight of you.

    “No. Besides, that order to Frigga was illogical, like I’m actually going to leave you to suffer alone,” you replied pleasantly. First attempt with him was always kindness. He still seemed so bruised and unused to it that it often softened him. If not, there was always knocking some sense into him. That was a terrifying prospect without your powers, since the power balance between you was so skewed in his favor. You had to trust that he wouldn’t hurt you.

    “I am not safe to be around right now, lady,” Loki snarled, returning to his pacing. You sighed and stepped toward him, placing a hand on his arm. Placing a hand- Fuck. Illusion. Your hand went right through him.

    “Where are you hiding, love?” you asked him kindly before the illusion faded. He just glared at you in reply. You huffed. “Fine, hide and seek it is,” you grumbled and left his chambers to go track down your wayward love.

    Your next stop was the room Thor, Sif, and the Warrior’s Three claimed to hang out in. You didn’t expect Loki to be there, but you weren’t surprised to see Thor there. “Sig!” he exclaimed when you came in and jumped to his feet to greet you, concerned that you were alone. “What are you doing here?”

    “Loki sent a cryptic note to the queen requesting that I stay with her tonight and mentioned that the All-father may have upset him?” Thor inclined his head. You were more careful with your words around others besides the immediate royal family, and tried to stick to titles when referring to them where others could hear. “He was not in his chambers when I went looking for him. Do you know where he might’ve gone?”

    Thor shook his head. “No, I have not seen him since we left Father. Why don’t you return to Mother and I will bring him to you when I have tracked him down?” Thor suggested. You just put your hands on your hips and stared up at him. “It was worth a try,” he said apologetically.

    “Do you need us to help?” Sif asked.

    Thor shook his head. “No, he’s not in trouble. Well, no more trouble than worrying his lady,” Thor corrected at your expression. “That is not a crime worthy of sicking Lady Sif and the Warriors Three on him,”

    “Thor, you don’t have to come-” you started.

    “I am worried about him too, little sister,” he told you firmly. He was coming along. You’d never find Loki if Thor was thundering around the palace with you. Well, you’d never find Loki wherever Thor was thundering anyway...

    Which gave you an idea. “Fine, but we split up. Loki will never allow himself to be found wherever you’re thundering and stomping around looking for him. So you go to the library and make a big fuss about it. I’ll check some of his other favorite haunts more stealthily,” you explained to Thor. He thought over your plan.

    “Are you sure you’re ok to be alone?” Thor asked, truly concerned.

    You nodded. “I’m worried about him Thor, really worried. You know how he gets... I want to find him and bring him back from whatever mood he’s in,” you let him hear your worry and see it in your expression.

    “Very well, but please be careful,” Thor relented only because he knew that you would do whatever it took, but that you might work with him if he didn’t argue too much. So you split up outside of the warrior’s sitting room and headed your separate ways to find your wayward love.


	43. Chapter 43

    You knew the palace quite well after exploring it with Loki like playful children for the past three weeks. Well, playful children who liked to hide in alcoves making out, so maybe playful teenagers. You’d been discovered more than once by maids, but they just politely pretended not to notice the usually stoic prince making out with his lady, while they gave you smirks and giggles of approval when you saw them again. Loki flushed when you were caught, but that didn’t stop him from initiating the hunt for the next make out alcove.

    Since you knew the palace so well, you knew that the fastest way to Loki’s favorite garden was through one of the hallways on one of the lower floors, so that’s where you went first. It was admittedly not one of your brightest plans.

    “Look, it’s Loki’s little pet human,” a thuggish looking man who obviously had no real reason for being in the palace said as he stepped out in front of you.

    “And she’s alone without her powers. The prince isn’t doing a very good job protecting his little mortal,” came another voice from behind you.

    “If we control the girl, we control the throne,” the other commented. That was a stupid-ass jump of logic.

    You rolled your eyes and stepped so the wall was at your back and you could see both men clearly. Obviously neither belonged here. “I’m Asgardian, dumbasses, just leave now before I have to beat the shit out of you for being where you don’t belong,” you told them firmly. They ignored your sage advice and lunged for you. You had your dagger unsheathed in an instant. You shrieked for help from the guards, but defended yourself well with hard earned skills of hand-to-hand and dagger combat, plus a couple of nasty tricks you had learned from Nat.

    Both men were bleeding on the floor by the time the guards arrived. You had a few small wounds, a black eye, a split lip, and a nasty cut on your arm from the battle, but nothing terrible and you had taken care of yourself without your powers. The story of Loki’s little healer darling taking care of two hulking men without her powers would spread throughout the palace like wildfire. You cleaned your dagger on the shirt of one of the bleeding men before you would resheath it. You briefly explained what happened to the guards. They took the men away to the dungeons, promising to question them and find out where they had come from and why they had dared to attack you. You nodded regally, and continued on your quest to find Loki.

    You ducked into the hidden alcove of Loki’s favorite garden to find him sitting on the bench there. “If this is another illusion, I am going to kick your ass when I find you,” you told him firmly, grumpy that you had been attacked while looking for him. You just wanted to lie down and put some ice on your face.

    “That is what Thor said when he came to the library,” he said softly without looking up from where he was picking nervously at his palms. “And then informed me in no uncertain terms that you were wandering the palace on your own determined to find me, so I had better show up where you would find me quickly, or he would chain me to Mjolnir for you,”

    You went to stand next to him and wrapped your arms around him. He was real this time, so you settled yourself on the bench next to him and undid his cloak from around your neck so you could wrap it over the two of you. “I may have get my own Mjolnir, since no one but Thor can lift his,” you teased. He looked over at you, shocked that you would threaten to chain him to a Mjolnir. His face fell when he saw yours and he was suddenly angry again.

    “What happened?” he demanded, turning your face toward him so he could see the damage.

    “A couple of thugs snuck into the palace and attacked me on my way down here. They’ve been dealt with and they’re in the dungeons being questioned on how they got in and why. I’m fine,” you tried to reassure him, but he growled something about his own uselessness and how he should have been there. Pain and his mood scraped on your temper. “No. You should not have been there, neither of us should have been. We should have been cuddling with healing tea and books in one of our rooms. I’m sorry about whatever your father did to put you in this mood, but no, love, you should not have taken it out on me. You should have confided in me. I’m here for you no matter what mood you’re in, no matter what emotions and old soul wounds are riding you,” you told him firmly.

    “I’m sorry. I wanted to spare you from this mood, from seeing me like this. I didn’t take into account your feelings,” his voice was soft and you could see that he truly felt bad. He knew he’d made a mistake.

    “I love you, Loki, so does Thor, so does you mother. Trust in us, confide in us, at least in me if you won’t trust them. I’m not going to judge you or hurt you. You know that. We’re in this together,” you reminded him again. You saw him thinking over your words, and it hurt you to do it, but you had to throw one more barb at him, add one more bruise so he would finally realize what he was doing when he did this. “We’re in this together, so please stop attacking our relationship. Stop attacking me and my feelings just to prove to yourself that I’ll leave you. I’m not leaving you unless you tell me to go, but I _am_ tired of you hurting me to try to see if I’ll leave, just because you’ve been hurt before.” He looked shocked, hurt by his own actions when he realized what he had done, what he kept doing.

    You stood from the bench and fastened the cloak back in place. “Now that I know you’re ok, I’m going up to my room. I know you and know you need time to yourself, too, especially in this mood. You’re welcome to brood down here until you’re ready to join me,” you told him. You kissed his forehead.

    “I should-” he started. You smiled at him and cut him off.

    “I’ll be perfectly safe walking to my room. It’s a direct path through the family wing from here. There’s no safer place in the palace than the family wing, as you know,” you reminded him. You kissed him. “Cool off your temper and this mood. Feel better, love. I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready.” You kissed him again before you ducked back through the bushes to the main path in the garden.

    You ran into Thor on the garden path. “You have not found him yet?” he asked, sounding disappointed before he got a clear look at you. “What happened?” he demanded, rushing toward you when he saw your face.

    “I’m fine, Thor,” you took his arm and started walking back to the palace with him. “I met up with a couple of thugs on my search. They’ve been thoroughly beaten up by me and are now being questioned in the dungeons,” you told him. “I just want to go back to my suite,” you added.

    “Healer first,” he told you firmly. You rolled your eyes, but didn’t protest and let him walk you to the healers first. “You did not find Loki?” he asked again as you walked.

    “I found him. He’s ok, but need more time to cool his temper and this mood. We talked things over. He’ll come in when he’s ready,” you told Thor. “He’s ok, Thor, we both are. You don’t have to chain him to Mjolnir,” you added with a grin.

    “I should...” Thor grumbled. “He has hurt your heart and gotten you hurt physically,”

    “Yes, but if you chain him to Mjolnir, then I can’t move him either,” you reminded him patiently, which made him laugh.

    “We will have to find out one day if you are worthy, little sister,” he commented jovially.

    The trip to the healers was quick, they healed the cut on your arm, but insisted there was no need with the bruise on your face, it would fade by the morning anyway. You didn’t blame them for conserving their powers. You knew that your powers were freakishly strong. That was why the betrothal was set up in the first place.

    Thor stayed with you the entire time and walked you back to your suite after, despite your protests that you didn’t need an escort. He reminded you that you had gotten attacked in the palace and he wasn’t risking your safety. He claimed that he didn’t want to get stabbed by Loki if something happened to you, but you knew it was because he cared. He kissed your forehead when you reached your suite. “Stay inside tonight?” he asked.

    “I will, or at least find an escort if I have to go out,” you promised. He accepted that and left for his own plans for the evening. You opened your suite’s door and were surprised when you were instantly pulled into a near desperate hug by a very worried looking Loki. “Loki?” you asked him softly, trying to breath.

    “You weren’t here!” he told you as he held you even tighter. “You said you’d be here. I thought something happened.”

    “I ran into Thor on the way back into the palace. He insisted I needed to see the healers before he’d let me come back here,” you explained quickly. Loki’s grip on you didn’t loosen.

    “I was so worried,” he replied. “I’m so sorry. You were right; I took you and our relationship for granted. I swear, I’ll never do it again,”

    “I accept your apology,” you replied with a smile. “Now can we get to our evening of books and tea?” He chuckled and kissed your forehead.

    “Of course, witchling,”

    He brewed the healing tea too strong. He claimed it was to heal the black eye faster. You had a feeling he just wanted to tuck you safely into bed where he could curl around you and feel like he was properly taking care of you after his mood earlier. You fell asleep to his whispers that he loved you and was sorry he had hurt you again and he would not let it happen a third time.


	44. Chapter 44

    When you and Loki finally came down to breakfast the next morning, you were greeted with cheers from Thor’s table with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. You thought they were just insinuating something that had very much not happened the previous night, but they waved you over to join them. You and Loki were equally wary, but were too polite to turn down the invitation and joined them at their table.

    The second you were seated, you had a cup of Loki’s healing tea in front of you. You smiled at him and took his hand, kissing the back of it. “What is it going to take to get you to eat something?” he asked you, his tone loving exasperation. “And chocolate cake cannot be the answer. I do not believe Mother when she insisted that you ate something besides cake yesterday,”

    You thought about that a moment. “I’ll trade you a kiss for eggs and toast. A good kiss, mind,” you teased.

    He considered your offer. “Eggs, toast, and three of those sausages,” he countered, gesturing to the sausages on the table.

    You huffed and grumbled. “Two sausages,”

    “Deal.” He leaned down and gave you a breathtaking lingering kiss. The Warriors Three cheered at first, but then groaned and made retching noises when your adorableness got to be too much for them. When Loki broke the kiss, you were pleasantly dazed and the plate of eggs, sausage, and toast was sitting in front of you. Loki took the seat next to you while the Warriors and Sif teased him about your relationship and how vomit-inducingly-cute you were. Loki seemed pleased by the attention, even if they were teasing him.

    “What were you guys cheering about?” you asked them while you ate. You had made a bargain with Loki and couldn’t go back on it, just because food was unappealing right now.

    “Your conquest over the thugs yesterday. Thor was telling us the tale,” Sif explained.

    You looked over at Thor. “What tales are you telling this time?” you asked him warily. He’d told tales about you and Loki already that you hadn’t wanted told.

    “I only told them how you defeated those brutes in the dungeons on your own. The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of your victims,” he boomed jovially.

    “I didn’t kill them, Thor, just beat the shit out of them a little,” you replied, embarrassed by how he was embellishing. Silly Thor was going to get you in trouble when he made claims you couldn’t back up.

    “Such a modest healer,” Loki teased and kissed your hair. Great, he wasn’t helping. They were both going to get you killed for boasting about physical prowess you didn’t have.

    “You weren’t even there, and haven’t left my side long enough to see my handiwork,” you grumbled at him, playing with your food instead of eating it.

    “Clones and illusions, love. I sent one down to check out your handiwork last night,” he explained patiently. You looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, wondering why he’d bother doing that. He shrugged. “I had to make sure you had punished them enough. It was sufficient, until the guards are through with them,”

    “That is high praise indeed coming from Loki,” Fandral commented jovially. “Are you sure Lady Sigyn is a healer?”

    “Quite sure, but I still suggest you do not anger her,” Loki replied with a grin. You stuck your tongue out at him, but returned to eating your breakfast. “My lady wounds me with her wicked tongue,” Loki mocked.

    You spent the rest of breakfast listening to Thor boast about how you had taken out two trained warriors on your own without your powers. He was quite proud of your accomplishment. You were still tempted to pick up Mjolnir and bash him obside the head with it for continuing to boast.

    *

    After breakfast, Loki took you to the markets. He watched your fascination at all of the wares that were being sold on market day as you bounced from stall to stall. He followed you, amused, but his expression and demeanor for all the world were of the stoic prince indulging his tiny whirlwind of a lady. You got him to lighten some when you grabbed his hand to drag him to a weapons vendor. He huffed and looked put-upon, but you saw the people see his expression crack, his stoicism falter in your presence.

    “My Prince,” a merchant spoke up as you neared his shop. Loki turned politely to the merchant, gripping your hand more firmly. You turned too, stepping seamlessly closer to Loki’s side, making it look like a polite gesture to listen to what the merchant wanted, instead of reassuring Loki that you were close enough to guard properly, which is what you were actually doing. “We have received a new shipment of texts. I set aside some of the more rare ones and those I thought you might be interested in for your perusal,”

    Loki inclined his head regally toward the merchant. You could see the glint of interest in his eyes as he turned to address you. “Do you mind if we pause to inspect this fine gentleman’s wares, my lady?” he asked formally. He still didn’t like losing his formal demeanor around outsiders, even here on his home world.

    “Not at all, my prince,” you replied equally formally. You could play the game for his sake and comfort. He offered you a small smile and kissed your knuckles.

    “Thank you for your indulgence,” he replied fondly and led the way into the bookseller’s shop. He was in heaven, as you knew he would be. He looked over the books that had been set aside for him and asked the merchant to have them sent to the palace for him. He glanced at you before he asked the merchant. “Do you perchance have a copy of Astrid the Shield Maiden?”

    “Astrid the Shield Maiden, my prince? That is but a children’s tale for young maidens,” the merchant was confused by Loki’s strange request, but walked directly to a beautiful leather bound book and presented it to Loki when he returned. Loki looked over the volume and gave the merchant a rare smile, at least the smile was rare to outsiders.

    “Thank you, Einar,” Loki must have frequented this merchant’s shop to actually know his name. “My lady enjoys tales as well and has not yet read this one, as she did not grow up on Asgard,” he explained to the confused merchant, who instantly lost his confusion. Loki turned and presented the book to you. “It’s but a humble offering, my darling, but I hope you will enjoy the gift,” he told you as you took the book from him and looked over how beautiful it was.

    “I will cherish it, love,” you replied, slightly less formally than you should. He smiled when you stood up on your toes to kiss his cheek. That was as close to a kiss that he would be comfortable with out here. You turned to the merchant. “Thank you as well, good Einar,” you told him kindly with your open smile and obvious pleasure. He looked surprised at how different you were publicly than Loki, but there was no need for you to be stoic too. Healers were expected to be open and friendly anyway. He was also probably surprised that you had remembered his name from just one mention of it by Loki. Loki vanished the book to your suite for you and you continued your whirlwind exploration of the market with him. The merchants knew how to deal with Loki, the stoic formal prince. They weren’t sure what to make of you, the open friendly whirlwind of a tiny healer. The two of you together confused them even more. They all seemed to agree that it was a pleasant experience, no matter how strange.


	45. Chapter 45

    You were so glad to get your powers back. You felt so vulnerable and defenseless without them, even though you were obviously perfectly capable of taking care of yourself without magic.

    You were practicing combat with Loki and Sif one afternoon, focusing on mixing physical combat with magical combat. A call came in while you were working that there were bandits and monsters attacking a village. “Is this a common problem?” you asked Loki as you ran for the horses. You and Loki could teleport there, but it was better to go with the entire team.

    “Unfortunately,” Loki replied. “Bandits and monsters are always problems. Are you sure I cannot convince you to stay here?” You didn’t dignify that with an answer and took his offered hand so he could swing you up behind him on his horse. You were settled behind him with your arms wrapped firmly around his waist a moment later. You could ride on your own now for fun, but for the breakneck speed you would need for this trip, it was better to ride with Loki. Loki chuckled at your too-tight grip, but didn’t say anything about it, or about your grip tightening even more when he kicked the horse to speed. You didn’t like the lack of control that came from riding horses. You preferred driving. Cars were much easier to control. The speed was as breakneck as you had expected, this village was farther away from the palace than the first one had been.

    You, Loki, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three all arrived at the scene at the same time and stared over the highly under-exaggerated battle. This was carnage. “Brother, with me. We need to stop the monsters before they tear the village apart. The rest of you focus on the bandits. Protect the people,” Thor ordered. The team split up without arguing, though Loki looked to you and kissed your forehead before he’d go with Thor.

    “Stay safe, darling,” he bid you. He wasn’t going to order you not to fight. That wasn’t going to happen and you were perfectly capable. Instead, he was going to tell you to be careful.

    “You be careful too,” you replied. After a quick kiss you both went your separate ways to your separate tasks in the battle. The battle was brutal and the bandits knew they were in trouble as soon as they saw your group appear. It took all of the skills and experience of the team to stop the fighting. Sif and the warrior boys appreciated that you fought like Loki. They knew how to work with you and your skills immediately because of it. You stuck to mostly physical fighting, saving your magic for healing after the battle. The villagers were in bad shape, they would need the healing.

    The villagers fought as well, defending a main central building. You rushed over there. “Are the children and elderly inside?” you asked one of the men guarding the outside.

    “Yes, lady, as well as the healing women and those unable to fight,” he replied, offering you the head-nod of a battle bow.

    You nodded. “Good job,” you told him and ducked into the building. The children were quietly in one corner of the room with the eldest child holding a staff in front of them, guarding from potential attacks. The elderly were helping the healing women prepare for after the battle, setting up cots in the big central room.

    “Lady, what can we do for you?” one of the healing women rushed over.

    “I am going to put a shield around this building and have the warriors begin sending the injured here. No one will be able to get through my shields unless someone on this side brings them through.” Or if it was Loki, your shields would recognize him and let him through, but they didn’t need to know that right now. “Station someone at the door to help the injured through, not one of the children, as the person guarding the door must be prepared to be injured for the cause,”

    One of the elderly men stepped forward. He wasn’t strong enough to fight the battle anymore, using a spear as a cane, and his words broke your heart. “I will do my duty for my people,”

    You didn’t argue with him. That would be an insult to this man and his honor. Instead you tipped your head. “Thank you for your service, grandfather,” with that done and a moment of quiet, you got to work on the bubble of shield around the building. No one was getting through your work without invitation from those inside. “The shields are up,” you told them. “The injured will be on their way,”

    You left the building again and told the guard outside to spread the word. The rest of the guards dispersed to help other places in the battle and start bringing the injured here. Sif was fighting a crowd of bandits nearby and you rushed in to help her, back to the physical battle.

    At one point during the battle you turned from one attacker, just to get stabbed in the side by another. You shrieked in rage and pain and stabbed him in the throat. It wasn’t your brightest move. His dead body took the blade in your side and dragged it down the lower half of your body. Good job you. The wound was deep, and _hurt_ and was bleeding everywhere since the idiot dead guy had made the wound all the way down the right side of your body. You took a glance at it, through some shields on it as makeshift bandages, and got back to the battle, shimmering an illusion into place so no one would see that you were injured, praying that it wasn’t as bad as it had looked.

    Thor and Loki defeated the monsters and joined the battle against the bandits. The villagers slowly funneled into the safehouse you’d created. Finally, the battle was done, the remaining bandits were captured for questioning, and you made your way back to your safehouse, where your real work began.

    The healers had triaged the injured and were working on the most injured. You took over from them and got to work healing all of the injured from the battle. Loki joined you, walking right through your shielding around the building. “Lady, you can remove the shields from the building. All of the bandits have been captured or killed,” he reminded you. You nodded and with a flick of your wrist the shields were down and the energy reabsorbed into you so you could use it in the healing. Loki had taught you that trick to not waste power. He walked with you as you worked, guarding, helping, reassuring the people that everything was ok now. There was a part of the back of your mind that was impressed he hadn’t noticed your illusions, or was being too noble to mention it at the least, not when you were still needed here.

    You had healed everyone in the safehouse besides bruises and small injuries that would heal quickly without interference. When one last gravely injured person was ran into the safehouse, carried by an out-of-breath guard from outside of the building. It was a toddler who had been nearly sliced in half. You took the toddler from the guard who looked like he had run the child across the entire village to try to get her here in time. She was still breathing, but barely. You handed the child to the head healer. “Hold her,” you ordered. There was no time to be polite. She held the child in her arms and you got to work. The wounds were bad and took the rest of your power to heal.

    “Sig!” Loki’s voice from behind you with gasps of shock and horror from the others in the room. Loki was directly behind you, standing centimeters from touching you. He knew better than to interrupt a healing. He wrapped his arms around you the second you lifted your hands from the healed toddler. You smiled at the healer, but she wouldn’t smile in return, instead she passed the toddler to one of the elderly and turned her attention back to you.

    “This way,” she told Loki, gesturing to one of the cots that had been set up in the healing room. You looked between them confused, until you saw your side and the illusion that had disappeared as you ran too low on power to maintain the illusions. The shields you had placed as makeshift bandages had faded too. You were low on power after healing an entire village again.

    “Healers...” the elderly man who had offered his services as the doorman commented.

    “Oh,” you said dumbly, looking at the wound. No wonder they were all horrified and shocked. They hadn’t realized you were injured, which was the point of the illusions, and now they saw just how bad it was. At least you’d gotten everyone else healed before the power had faded from your fixes to yourself.

    “Y/N!” Loki exclaimed as you collapsed against him, dropping like a stone into unconsciousness. The wound must have been bad indeed for Loki to slip from carefully avoiding your Midgardian identity while on Asgard. You’d all agreed before you made the trip that it was the best course of action.

    Not much made Loki’s tongue slip.


	46. Chapter 46

    You moaned softly as you came to. You were moving and in pain. What the hell was going on? You opened your eyes and Loki held you closer to him. “Y/N, you’re awake,” he said softly, worried.

    “I think so,” you replied, still unsure on that particular point. You remembered what happened and why you’d been unconscious. “You’re going to yell at me,” you whined and laid your head more comfortably on Loki’s shoulder as you took in your surroundings. You were in Loki’s lap on his horse, riding away from the village.

    “Maybe later,” he replied with a smile in his voice. “Right now, I’m just glad you’re ok,”

    “I’m not sure I’m up to ok yet,” you grumbled. Your entire right side was bandages from your stomach down and it _hurt_. Moving wasn’t fun either and horses moved a lot more during transport than cars did. Loki was trying to support you, but he could only do so much.

    “We got you stabilized at the village and determined the best option was to return to the palace. The palace healers are there and I know you’ll feel better healing at home instead of a remote village,” Loki explained.

    “Do you need me to take her for awhile?” Thor asked from his horse when you’d made a small pained noise at a bump in the road.

    “Sorry, love, sorry,” Loki whispered into your hair.

    “Why don’t you just teleport back? We’ll see that your horse is returned safely,” Sif suggested, which just ignited Loki’s temper.

    “Don’t you think I would if I could?” Loki snarled in reply, holding you more securely in his arms.

    You leaned up and kissed his cheek, calming him. “I’m ok,” you told him.

    “You’re bleeding from a knife wound down the entire side of your body,” he replied dryly, grumpily. You could tell he felt bad. “And I didn’t see the illusions or shields you’d used to patch yourself together during the battle,” he added softly. “I would be impressed with your work at hiding an illusion from me if I weren’t so upset that you’re hurt,”

    “I couldn’t let the people see I was injured,” you told him softly, being awake even this long while injured had drained you. “They have to see that the royal family is strong, even when we are not,” you reminded him.

    He kissed your forehead. “You did admirably, darling, now rest,” he bid you gently.

    “You used magic,” you accused him. You were falling asleep too quickly, especially considering the amount of pain you were in.

    “I did,” he agreed pleasantly. “Very good, darling,” he teased, pleased you had noticed the magic. It was a subtle spell. “But there is no need for you to be in pain and the journey back will be long and unpleasant for you if you must be awake for it,”

    “Cheater,” you mumbled. He chuckled.

    “Rest, darling. I’ll wake you when we’re home,”

    “When we get home, not a moment later,” you grumbled the order at him. You could agree to skip the long trip home, but you wouldn’t miss what happened when you got there.

    “As my lady wishes, now please go to sleep,” he told you with loving exasperation. One of the warrior boys made a whip cracking noise. You were pretty sure he got a dagger thrown at him for his efforts. You snuggled more comfortably in Loki’s arms and did as you were told. For once.

    *

    “Darling, we’re here,” Loki told you gently as his spell lifted. Your eyes opened to see the stables of the palace around you. “I’m going to pass you down to Thor now,” he warned once you were awake. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.” You nodded and let yourself be handed down to Thor. You wrapped your arms around his neck, biting your lip to try to avoid making pained sounds.

    “It’s alright, little sister. I have you,” Thor told you gently. You could hear the concern in his voice too. He passed you to Loki once Loki had dismounted.

    “I’m taking her straight to the healers. Call Mother to join us,” Loki ordered. You could tell by his tone that he was worried, he was being too blunt and snappish with Thor for their repaired relationship.

    Thor didn’t seem to mind, just clapped Loki on the shoulder. “Take care of your lady. Mother and I will join you shortly.” You laid your head on Loki’s shoulder and he went straight for the healers with more speed than his usual dignity would have allowed.

    “Your Highness!” one of the women in the healing room greeted the two of you. One of them led you to one of the beds in the healing room.

    “My lady was injured during the battle at Sveldhar village,” Loki explained, more concern and emotion in his voice and expression than he would ever let the palace staff see, were you not the one involved. It took effort and a lot of ‘your highness’es for the healers to get Loki out of the way so they could get to work. You wondered briefly how the healing women in the village had managed.

    Thor and Frigga arrived a moment later. Frigga jumped in to help the healers with no more than a token invitation from the healers already at work. Thor grabbed Loki by the arm and dragged him bodily from the room, despite Loki’s protests. Ah, that’s how the healing women had managed; Thor must have helped. “Brother, your presence will not help here,” Thor told Loki kindly as he dragged Loki away. “She is in good hands with Mother,”

    “Sigyn, what happened?” Frigga asked as the last of the bandages were removed so the healers could see what they were working on. The gash was nasty and ran from just under your ribs, curving over your hip and down your right leg to nearly your knee. You briefly explained the battle and the injury you took.

    At her prodding and disapproving look that you were obviously leaving something out, you added the part where you _might_ have slapped shields on the wound as a makeshift bandage and illusions so the people wouldn’t see that you were injured and how there was an _ever so slight_ possibility that you had rejoined the battle afterwards. And an even _more_ slight possibility that you had healed the entire village before anyone found out you were injured. “I see...” Frigga’s voice was amused. “I don’t think anyone will question that you are a good match for my son when _that_ is your explanation when cornered,” she laughed. “Rest now. Let us get this treated quickly before Thor has to pin Loki down with Mjolnir to keep him out of our way.”

    The other healers hid their laughter and got to work with a mix of magic and medicine, led by Frigga’s experience. The pain eased in a moment and you faded back to sleep due to the magic of one of them. You never did figure out which one. They were obviously well used to working in magical harmony, as they all worked on the healing together. “It is also impressive, my dear, that your magic is strong enough that you were able to hide an illusion from my son. Your magic may very well be stronger than his...” With that last thought for your brain to think about, you fell completely into the healing sleep.


	47. Chapter 47

    You woke again to the lovely dulcet sounds of your bethrothed. “THOR! Get your stupid hammer off of me!” Loki was yelling indignantly.

    “Hush, brother, mother wants you to stay _out_ of the healing room,” Thor replied with a smirk in his voice.

    “This thing is heavy, and just because your stupid hammer is a representation of _your_ manhood does not mean you should sit it on top of mine! Now let me up!”

    “Boys!” Frigga snapped in the direction of the bickering while you were busy opening your eyes and trying to hide your snickering. You sat up slowly while Frigga’s attention was focused on her bickering sons.

    “Sorry mother,” both boys replied sheepishly.

    You looked past Frigga and the healers and saw that Loki was sitting in a chair, probably thrown there by Thor, just outside of the healing room, with Mjolnir in his lap, too far back in his lap according to his complaints... Thor was standing next to the chair, looking smug for about thirty more seconds until he ended up with a dagger in his side. He yelped, then stared at it and sighed. “I should have expected that,” you couldn’t help giggling at that. Frigga and both of her sons turned their attention to you. “Good job, brother, you have woken your lady,” Thor told Loki with sarcasm more worthy of Loki than the usually straightforward Thor. The brothers were sometimes more alike than they wanted to admit.

    “Shut up, Thor and move your fu-” a quick glance at Frigga and he quickly changed the word he was going to say “stupid hammer!” Loki growled.

    You laughed again. “So, can I leave now?” you asked the healers and Frigga.

    She gave you a soft smile. “Healers are all the same,” she told you fondly. “They all refuse to stay in bed even when they are injured or sick themselves,” she explained.

    Loki huffed and rolled his eyes. “She’s terrible about it,” he grumbled. “Seriously, Thor, move your hammer!” he added, drawing another dagger.

    “If you can be calm, you may enter. We have finished with Sigyn,” Frigga finally told the boys. She was amused by their childish antics, probably reminded of them as actual children, excepting the part where Thor got stabbed. Again.

    “If you don’t get this hammer off of me, I am going to poison your mead again,” Loki grumbled.

    “Loki,” you finally spoke up. Loki looked down at your one word warning.

    He sighed heavily and glared, but said “I will not poison Thor’s mead, even if he deserves it,”

    “That is a very impressive skill, Sigyn,” Frigga told you with pride. You gave her a small smile.

    “I am sure you’re more effective with him than I am. Thor, can you let Loki up now? I would like very much to see him,” you asked pleasantly from the bed you were obviously not supposed to get up from. The healers were all watching for you to be stupid too. They were expecting you to be as bad as the boys. You would have been insulted had they not been right most of the time. Thor offered you a small bow and picked up Mjolnir. Loki was on his feet in an instant and on the bed with you another instant later, pulling you into his arms. You leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’m fine, love. I am fine, right?” you asked the healers.

    “Yes, Lady,” they replied.

    “Almost,” corrected Frigga with a disapproving look at the healers who were telling you what you wanted to hear, forgetting that you wouldn’t stay resting any more than any of the other troublesome Asgardians would have. “The wound is closed and healed enough that I will allow you to leave. If” she added quickly before you could get too excited. “You will stay off of your feet for at least two days. The muscle needs to heal and the healing needs to strengthen. Those are my terms, either you promise to stay off of your feet for the two days and have me believe you, or you stay in bed here with my lovely healers who will make sure you stay in bed and a book if we’re feeling particularly generous.” You could tell Frigga was used to dealing not only with stubborn troublesome Asgardian warriors, but also her sons, especially Loki who would have also said and done anything to get out of the healing room.

    “I’ll stay off my feet!” you reassured her quickly. You turned to Loki. “You’ll help, right?” you asked, realizing that this would inconvenience him.

    He gave you a mischievous smirk. “I _should_ leave you here for getting hurt,” he teased. You glared at him.

    “I didn’t _try_ to get hurt,” you grumbled, puffing up like an indignant cat at his teasing. “We were in a battle. It happens,”

    “Darling-” Frigga started, but Loki actually spoke over her. She was as surprised as the rest of you.

    “But it would be so dull and lonely without you, so yes, my darling, I will help keep you off of your feet,” he said warmly and kissed the top of your head, soothing your emotions back out when he stopped teasing.

    Frigga just sighed, exasperated by all of her children. You realized then that she had already adopted you as one of her troublesome children, and it warmed your heart that she had. “Alright, darlings, you can leave the healing room. Do so quickly before I change my mind,” she told you all with a warm smile. “And take Lady Sif and the Warriors Three with you. They frighten my healers,”

    “Yes mother,” answered the boys obediently. You couldn’t help smiling at their obedient obviously well rehearsed automatic reply. She smiled fondly at them, obviously remembering the many, many times over the years that she heard that same reply in that same tone.

    Loki stood from the bed and reached to pick you up in his arms. “No wheelchairs here, love,” he teased at your mild surprise.

    “Sorry,” you mumbled, wrapping you arms around his neck automatically as he lifted you from the bed.

    He chuckled. “No need to apologize, darling. I would carry you even if we did have wheelchairs here. I much prefer you in my arms where I _know_ you’re safe,”

    “Loki, I’m capable of taking care of myself,” you reminded him.

    “I know you are. I just hate to see you hurt. I should have protected you. I should have at least _seen_ that you were hiding the injuries,” he told you while Thor was shepherding Sif and the warrior boys away from the healing room toward their hang out room. Apparently, they’d been annoying everyone waiting to see how you were. Thor also made some threat you hadn’t paid attention to if Loki didn’t come with them to their living room and let his friends see that you were ok for themselves.

    “I didn’t mean to hide them from you,” you told him softly. “I just didn’t want the people to see the wound and get upset and think I’m a weakness to the royal family,” you confessed. The warriors had heard you and roared in laughter.

    “The tales of your deeds have spread far and wide already, Sig, your taming of our stoic prince is perhaps the most impressive among them. There is no chance they will think you’re a weakness,” Fandral reassured you as you were walking.

    “Mother did also mention that Sig’s powers have been growing since you began teaching her to use them properly, brother,” Thor added. “Just because I saw through her illusions six months before you even met her does not mean the illusions would not fool me now that she has had more practice and power at her disposal,”

    “I hate when he knows anything about magic,” Loki grumbled in your ear, making you giggle. “He studies just to throw knowledge at me and make himself sound smart,”

    “Be nice, darling. He’s trying to relate to something you enjoy,” you reminded him. “It means he loves you,” Loki rolled his eyes dramatically.

    “And you weren’t actually expecting your lovely healer to be injured, or capable of hiding it from everyone if she were. She has apparently taken too well to aspects of the warrior’s training,” Sif added with approval.

    “In short, stop worrying and let’s eat!” Volstagg boomed as he threw open the doors to their living room. You laughed at the cheers from the others. Loki huffed and grumbled and outright protested when the warriors all lifted his couch and moved it over to where the other couches were situated, instead of off to the side by the bookshelves.

    “Put that back!” he complained, but there wasn’t much he could do about it besides grumble at them while he was still holding you.

    “Join us, brother,” Thor clapped Loki on the shoulder.

    “We agreed to sit with you so you could see that Sig is ok,” Loki grumbled. You laughed and kissed his cheek.

    “Calm down, love. We’ll sit with them for a little bit, eat something, and then we can go hide somewhere quiet,” you reminded him. He sighed.

    “Fine. Because you’re hungry,” everyone laughed at that comment from your silly trickster. Thor grinned and somehow managed to take you from Loki’s arms. You had absolutely no idea how that happened, though you shrieked in surprise when he actually succeeded. He gestured Loki to the table where the food was always laid out for the warriors.

    “Go get your lady something to eat,” Thor ordered.

    “Just put her down, Thor,” Loki replied, drawing a dagger.

    “In a moment,” Thor replied pleasantly. “Actually...” he started with a grin and grabbed Loki by the back of the tunic, without dropping you, and propelled him backwards onto the couch.

    “Watch it, oaf!” Loki protested the treatment as he fell onto the couch, having not expected Thor to basically throw him there. Thor set you gently on Loki’s lap, smiling in approval.

    “As effective as Mjolnir,” Thor announced, proud of himself. You giggled at Thor’s antics while Loki spluttered and snarled at his brother, trying to draw a dagger without harming you. You kept getting in his way. Sif handed you a plate she’d filled from the overladen table of food.

    “Thanks,” you replied at her kindness. You munched on the delicacies and popped grapes into Loki’s mouth until he finally softened again. After a few grapes and the better bribe of kisses, he finally calmed, stroking your hair while the others recounted the battle. You had to tell them your part of the battle, shielding the central building, how you got injured, and proceeded to return to the battle and then the healings while injured and nothing holding your leg together more than some shields and illusions.

    You ‘feigned’ tiredness to give Loki the excuse to leave. Healing always took energy from the healed, so you let him use you as an excuse to escape somewhere quieter. “Don’t scare me like that again, witchling,” he told you when you were safely back in his suite, curled in his arms.

    “I have no intentions,” you replied. “I much prefer healing others than being healed. I’ll leave that to the warrior boys,” you grumbled, bored already with bedrest and not being allowed on your feet. It was going to be a long two days.

    He chuckled and kissed your forehead. Then your nose. Then your lips. Gently at first, but more insistent with his need for reassurance that you were ok. And suddenly you forgot about your complaining when the kisses didn’t end. Bedrest could be tolerated when it came with kisses with Loki.


	48. Chapter 48

    You were bright red in embarrassment and had hidden your face against Loki’s neck as he carried you to breakfast the next morning. He had positioned your dress strategically so everyone could see the bandage on your leg. That didn’t stop it from being embarrassing. “You’re just doing this to punish me for getting hurt,” you whined at him.

    He kissed your forehead. “No, darling. I am doing this because I love you and you need to eat breakfast. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. You were injured fighting for our people. They’re honored a member of the royal family, especially our healer, would risk such an injure to protect them,”

    You were surprised when there were cheers from those gathered at breakfast and you knew those cheers were for you.

    *

    The bedrest nearly drove you crazy. You hadn’t thought it would be so bad, a couple days of staying curled up in your room with books. But _no_ you were royalty now and had to be seen in public. At least Loki kept some of his patience somehow. You were out of it. He also had an uncanny ability to distract you from embarrassment over being carried and taken care of with kisses.

    Cheater.

    You were tired of being carried by the end of the first day, though Loki never seemed to mind. Except when Thor had to once when Loki got called to help Odin consult on a spell. He didn’t like that Thor had carried you back to bed for a nap while he worked, since you hadn’t been invited to help. Healing Asgardians were sleepy creatures.

    You all ended up frustrated and upset when the maids insisted on helping you bathe. _Loki, help!_ you thought across the hall at him. Telepathy wasn’t one of your best abilities and you were really just learning how to use it, but Loki must’ve caught the drift and came to your rescue. He somehow politely, but firmly, shooed the maids away, insisting that you were too polite to tell them that you didn’t held and you were too Midgardian to be comfortable with the comforts of palace life yet (aka annoying maids who tried to do everything for you).

    “How do you _do_ that?” you whined when he had gotten them to go away.

    He chuckled and sat on your bed next to you. “I grew up as a prince, darling. You’ll get used to it. Now what were they trying to help you with that got you so riled?”

    “They insisted I needed help bathing,” you growled, still annoyed enough to have your temper up instead of your embarrassment. You realized a moment too late that you probably shouldn’t have told Loki that, though.

    Because he would insist on helping in three, two, one... “Of course,” he said with a mischievous smirk and lifted you from the bed.

    “Loki!” you shrieked, indignantly. “I’m capable of bathing on my own!” you told him firmly.

    “Sure you are. And how, pray tell, were you intending on getting in the bath without standing?” he asked.

    “Magic,” you replied grumpily. He chuckled and carried you to the bathing room.

    “How about your betrothed helps instead?” he purred in your ear, making your heart race.

    You sighed. “Well...if it means that much to you,” you finally relented. He smiled and kissed the top of your head.

    “Wise decision, darling,” he purred and kissed you. It started as a perfectly chaste kiss, but that only lasted a moment until you were lost in the kisses. You did finally pay attention again when you realized Loki was walking into the tub with you. The bathing tubs were more like hot tubs, plenty of room for more than one, and there were steps down into the water.

    “You’re getting wet,” you told him. He was just supposed to set you in the bath, silly trickster.

    He rolled his eyes. “That is generally what happens when one takes a bath, witchling,” he teased. “You said I could help,” he reminded you. You then also realized that all of the clothes had vanished. While you were still flushed and spluttering he had got you both settled in the bath and began the work of thoroughly washing your hair, you melted against him as he worked, his fingers expertly massaging your scalp. He chuckled when you melted against him and leaned down to place a light kiss on your neck.

    You were both very thoroughly clean and very thoroughly relaxed before the bath had ended and curled up to take a nap afterwards.

    *

    On the morning you were finally cleared from bedrest, you woke to find yourself curled around a very female Loki. She flushed in embarrassment, hesitant, unsure that you’d be ok with the sudden change. “Morning Lady-Love,” you greeted her with a smile, kissed her, and curled yourself more comfortably around her for more cuddles. She sighed happily and relaxed at your unquestioning acceptance.

    The day passed as usual, you brushed out and braided Loki’s hair while she melted and purred in delight. You went through light weapons training with Sif (with a lot of care taken for your newly healed leg and side). You spent time visiting with the warrior boys and Sif. The warriors greeted you both with kisses on the hand. Thor kissed your cheek and Loki’s hand with the greeting of “Little sisters”, which made Loki smile. You popped into the healing wing to make sure your services weren’t needed there. Frigga greeted you both with hugs and kisses on the cheek. Loki returned the greeting in like manner. It warmed your heart how open and accepting everyone was.

    No one questioned Loki being female. The questions were all at your blatant acceptance of it and how you were instantly ready to fight anyone who made a derogatory comment. Only one person dared say anything remotely negative. He ended up with a chest full of your daggers for the insult. He’d live, but you weren’t healing him. You let the guards explain to Frigga and the healers why he was so injured. He was informed that he was lucky to be alive after insulting the princesses and left to suffer his injuries without healing. Frigga was setting up some awful punishment for him as well. There were no consequences for you for defending your Loki besides a proud kiss from Loki at your dagger skills.

    The other issue that day came at dinner when Odin made a comment, glaring at Loki. “You’re still playing these childish nonsensical games? I thought you had grown past this when you finally accepted your path, when you accepted the betrothal, when you’ve worked on Midgard to make amends,” Odin stormed off before Loki could reply.

    You glared daggers at Odin, but didn’t dare do anything against him, not here in the crowded dining hall and not against the king. You were angry at him, but not stupid enough to commit treason. Though it was close. Instead, you wrapped your arms around Loki to soothe her hurt at the disapproval. With a nod to Frigga that you’d take care of Loki, you teleported the two of you back to your suite and held Loki soothing her while she cried out the hurt and pain of Odin’s rejection.

    When her tears slowed, you placed your fingers under her chin, tilting her head up so she had to look in your eyes. You saw her pain and fear. “Odin’s an ass. Ignore him. I’m here for you love and I love you, no matter your form. You’re always my Loki,” you told her with a smile and kissed her. She finally relaxed after the application of a few of your kisses.


	49. Chapter 49

    You were still curled around Lady Loki as the big spoon the next morning. Loki would never admit enjoying being the little spoon, but Lady Loki could and did. You ran your fingers through her long hair as she slept and placed kisses on her cheek and neck. “Feeling better?” you asked softly when she began to wake.

    She rolled over and gave you a smile. “Very much so.”

    “Good,” you smiled at her soft, warm expression and gave her a kiss. A few kisses later you both finally remembered you had things to do that day.

    “Let me do your hair?” Loki asked after you’d dressed. You tossed her the hairbrush in reply. She giggled, but came over to brush out your hair. You automatically closed your eyes, not liking to watch people work on your hair, it came from anxiety of too many foster parents messing it up when they tried to cut it themselves to save money as opposed to taking you to a hairdresser.

    “There. Done. What do you think?” Loki’s voice was male again when he asked the question, though hesitant, unsure.

    You opened your eyes to look over what he did. Your hair was braided back away from your face as usual, most of the rest of it falling in curls. Except for the single braid that started behind your left ear that fell in front of your shoulder which had a lock of Loki’s hair braided into it. It warmed your heart that he would do it. You turned to Loki. “It’s beautiful, but your hair-?” he was so vain about his hair. You stood to look for the place where the lock had been taken from.

    He chuckled. “It’s a-”

    “Lovelock,” you answered at the same time as he finished his sentence, as you found the spot, but it was well hidden, no one else would be able to see it. He inclined his head, looking surprised you knew already. “I _do_ read,” you reminded him with a smirk. He laughed.

    “Of course you do, witchling. I can still be surprised that you knew of the tradition,”

    You shrugged. “I was waiting for the right time to suggest it, but you’re such a peacock about your hair that I didn’t think you’d be interested, despite tradition,” you hadn’t even mentioned it before, but at least you’d been ready in case he made the decision himself. “I won’t force you to wear it too,” you added. He smiled and kissed your forehead.

    “I know you wouldn’t and I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but it would be an honor to wear my lady’s token,” he added the last part over-elegantly, overly formally. You grinned and handed him a dagger, turning so he could choose the lock of hair. He would do a better job than you would. He handed you the lock and vanished the dagger a moment later. He looked so put-upon when you sat him in the chair in front of your vanity and got to work braiding his hair. Even the men here wore braids in their hair and it wouldn’t look strange if you braided his into a half ponytail. “What are you doing to my hair?” he whined.

    You kissed the top of his head. “I’m not hurting it,” you replied. “Hush, silly peacock,” you teased. He stuck his tongue out at you. You braided the lock of your hair into his just behind his left ear. “There, done,” you announced.

    *

    Frigga smiled warmly when she saw the lovelocks at breakfast. Loki kissed her cheek when he saw her. “Good morning my dears,” she greeted you both. “Darling, your father requested your help with a spell. Why he doesn’t just ask me, I will never know,” she told Loki kindly. He inclined his head, but didn’t look pleased by this development.

    “Yes, Mother. I’ll go after breakfast,” he replied obediently. Frigga was the only one who could get _that_ obedient tone out of him.

    “Does he need mine too?” you offered, preferring to go with Loki to protect him from Odin’s bad parenting.

    “No, dear, I do need your help in the healing wing. We got word overnight that there’s been a sudden outburst of dragon-pox. The children are being brought there now. I know you three are leaving tomorrow and I hate to put you both to work on your last day of the visit...”

    You shook your head. “I don’t mind. Loki, do you have-?” a book appeared in your hand with a shimmer of green magic. “Thanks,” you opened the marked page and began reading up on the dragon-pox while you absently ate breakfast one-handed.

    “She really is perfect for you, darling,” Frigga told Loki kindly.

    He chuckled in reply. “So it seems.” You looked up from the book long enough to stick your tongue out at Loki before returning to your research so you at least had an idea what you were getting into. You snapped the book shut, devoured the rest of your breakfast in a manner more fitting of Thor and stood from the table. The dragon-pox was bad and could be deadly with the aid of a healer.

    Frigga stood too with a regal grace you could never hope to manage, especially when your instincts were telling you to run to help the children. Dragon-pox affected children most of all. You kissed Loki goodbye and went with Frigga to the healing wing. Children from the palace and city were being brought in to be treated. With a couple of pointers from Frigga on how best to handle the pox, you jumped to work. Dragon-pox was partially a magical affliction and took way more power to help the victims than a normal cold. The trick was to defeat the magical aspects with healing magic, leaving the victim with the cold and purple spots. That would give them immunity to the disease later in life. These children were in dire states. The pox was way worse than usual and it was taking every healer’s efforts to combat it.

    “Are these all of the victims?” Loki asked when he entered the room a short time later.

    “Darling, you can’t help here,” Frigga told him firmly, wanting him out of the way if he wasn’t going to be able to help.

    “Yes, I can, Mother, this pox is worse than any I have ever seen. You need my help,” he replied equally firmly. “Are these all of the victims?” he repeated. You finished with the child you’d been working on and went to Loki, seeing what he was up to. You’d done it once before with him.

    “Yes, they’ve all been brought in. Loki, you know your healing powers aren’t strong enough for this,” Frigga told him, while she came over from the patient she had been working on.

    Loki looked at you instead of replying to her. “Are you up to this?” he asked.

    “Are you?” you shot back, offering him a hand that was already glowing blue with your magic. He placed his hand in yours without answering. “Healers, to us,” you ordered firmly, picking up the exact tone of a royal edict from your time here. The healers all dropped what they were doing, looking over at you and Loki in shock. That was all you needed. It could be deadly to interrupt a healing, but if they stopped working on their patients to look at you, then you were free to interrupt.

    Loki leaned down to whisper in your ear. “Take what you need.” The words were ritual, sacrifice, as he offered everything he had and everything he was to you, an ultimate act of trust. You felt the connection between your magics burst open. You touched every child in the room with your power, ignoring Frigga’s exclamation about the pain of a power joining. You and Loki didn’t have that problem working together. You followed the power with conscious thought, burning the pox from the children, leaving just enough cold behind to give them the immunity later. It took no time and too much. It took way more power to heal all of the children at the same time, to heal them without physical contact, but it was also the only way to make sure they were all saved, and you never would have managed it had Loki not been donating power too.

    Finally the healing was done and you dropped Loki’s hand. You were both breathing hard, swaying, but managing to keep your feet under you. Frigga was looking at you both with such fear and worry in her eyes. “We’re alright,” you told her before she could freak out. “We’ve had to do that once before,” you added, when it was clear that Loki wasn’t going to offer any additional information. “There’s no pain when we do the power joining,”

    “That should be impossible,” Frigga commented. You nodded and wrapped an arm around Loki’s waist.

    “And yet...” you leaned up and kissed Loki’s cheek. “Thank you, love. We never would have saved them all without your help.”

    He kissed the top of your head in reply. “It’s no trouble, darling, but we should go find something to eat,”

    “They’re all-?” Frigga looked over the room that was chock full of children who had been gravely ill before your magic.

    You nodded. “We healed them all. They have just enough of the cold left to build up the immunity,” you told her, managing to keep the exhaustion from your voice.

    She looked so relieved, so touched that you both would risk the pain and amount of power drain to heal the children. “I don’t have enough words to thank you both. We will take things from here. Go rest until the feat tonight,” she told you both firmly.

    She softened her firm words by kissing Loki’s cheek, then yours. You both smiled at her and made your way slowly down the hall to the warrior’s lounge. It was closer than either of your rooms and thanks to Volstagg always had a huge supply of food. You each devoured a Thor-sized plate of whatever was around, then went to sit down on Loki’s couch to relax for a little bit before you headed back to one of your suites. Loki laid down to rest his eyes for a minute, or so he claimed. You joined him in the space between his body and the back of the couch, laying your head on his chest. You fell asleep to him running his fingers through your hair.

    “Mother sent me to check on you two,” Thor’s voice boomed who knew how long later. You cracked your eyes open to see what he wanted.

    “Go away Thor,” Loki growled without waking. Thor chuckled and draped his cape as a blanket over the two of you in reply.

    “Go back to sleep, little sister. Mother told me what you two did today. No trouble will find you here.” You closed your eyes and cuddled more comfortably with Loki, content to rest for awhile longer.

    He was going to be so embarrassed when the other warriors found him sleeping, cuddled on a couch with his lady, under Thor’s cape as a blanket. That was a problem for later, though.


	50. Chapter 50

    You woke to the loud sounds of the warriors three. Why were Thor’s friends so loud? “Thor, tell your friends to shut up,” Loki grumbled, his voice sounding younger than usual. You smiled when you opened your eyes. His eyes were closed and there was a small smile on his face, remembering falling asleep around Thor and his friends when they were children if you had any indication, especially since he was using Thor’s cape as a blanket. You leaned up to kiss his cheek.

    “Time to wake up, love,” you told him softly, praying that the warrior boys wouldn’t do anything to upset him.

    “Hmm?” Loki asked softly, turning to the sound of your voice, his eyes still closed. You kissed him lightly.

    “Wake up, silly Trickster,” you told him again. His eyes snapped open and he flushed when he realized where you were. He grumbled something as he fought against Thor’s cape to get to a sitting position. The warrior boys cheered and catcalled. You were on your feet in an instant, three daggers thrown at them an instant later. Loki grabbed you around the waist and hauled you into his lap, throwing off your aim just in time so the daggers missed their marks.

    “I _did_ warn you not to annoy the healer. She bites,” Sif commented dryly, amused at the warrior boys throwing themselves to the floor to keep from being stabbed.

    “Darling, Thor’s friends tease, but we really shouldn’t stab them. They’re not being mean,” Loki said softly. You just looked at him indignantly.

    “They were rude to you. And like _you_ can talk about not stabbing people,” you grumbled.

    “You’re a healer. Please try to remember that occasionally,”

    “You grumble about that all the time,”

    “Yes, when you’re being self sacrificing to save others,” he grumbled.

    “So you’re just going to be annoyed no matter what I do?” you demanded.

    He sighed. “No, I’m going to love you no matter what you do,”

    “Good,” you laid your head on his shoulder and let him hold you for a minute.

    “We were going to wake you soon anyway, there’s the feast tonight before you three go back to Midgard,” Sif reminded you. You sighed heavily.

    “That means I have go put on pretty clothes,” you whined. She laughed.

    “How do you think I feel? I have to be a proper court _lady_ tonight,” she whined right back and you both laughed. You finally got off of Loki’s lap.

    “We should get ready,” you told him when he pouted. You still had to bribe him with kisses to get him off the couch. He nearly pulled you back onto his lap instead of getting up. Thor had to threaten to carry him over his shoulder before you really got him up and moving.

    *

    You were dressed in a formal gown of a soft material that was forest green in color with a golden braided cord belt as accent and a golden tiara. Again with Loki’s colors. You didn’t mind, they looked good on you. “You look lovely, darling,” Loki told you as he bowed over your hand to kiss it when he met you in the hallway between your rooms. He was dressed in his formal finery too.

    “And you look handsome as usual,” you replied, standing up on your toes to kiss him. “But I’ll be glad to go home. I miss jeans.” You were both laughing as you made your way to the feast.

    There were toasts in your honor and Thor’s, way too much to eat, and way, way too much to drink, and somehow everyone seemed to want to see all of the alcohol end up in you. You had gotten much better at turning them down, though.

    After the feast, you spent the night dancing with Loki. You danced with Thor when Frigga claimed a dance with your Loki. You didn’t deny her the opportunity and the two of them were absolutely amazing on the dance floor.

    Thor, Loki, and the warriors three argued over who was going to ask you to dance next, so you took Sif’s arm and danced with her instead, sticking your tongue out at the perplexed boys. You wished your phone hadn’t died so you could take pictures of their expressions. Thor and Loki worked together exactly long enough to get back at you and actually danced together. The entire court just stared wondering how in all of the nine realms you had managed to get them to do that. Somehow you ended up back with Loki and Sif was dancing with Thor by the end of that song. You were all laughing and having such a good time that you were actually sad when the party was ending.

    Except that the party lasted all night. You realized when the sun had risen that none of you had been to bed, though you were all drunk by then and had been dancing all night.

    You, Thor, and Loki said your goodbyes to Frigga, Sif, and the warrior boys and made your way to the Bifrost. You had to stop once on the way to cough on some dust or something in the air. You waved off Loki’s concern. “It was just dust,” you told him.

    Heimdall looked you all over, still in your formal finery, but opened the Bifrost for you so you could go home.

    The second you were back, you were bombarded by press and fans who saw the Bifrost open on Earth. So you had to pose for pictures until you and Loki worked together at the same time to make an illusion of the three of you and teleported you all into the tower while the illusion stayed behind to take pictures.

    “Nice tiara,” Tony greeted you when you appeared in the middle of the living room.

    “Thanks,” you replied with a smirk.

    “So, does that mean you two are married now?” he asked, trying to find something to make fun of you for.

    “No, it was a betrothal ceremony,” you replied tiredly. “We’ve been up all night at a feast, so if you don’t have anything useful to say, I’m going to bed,”

    “Welcome home,” Cap said warmly. You nodded and waved to him and the rest of the group, then took Loki’s hand to teleport you both up to your suite. One clothes changing spell later and you were passed out together in comfortable pajamas for a much needed nap.

    *

    You had to wear a dress again that evening for Tony’s surprise welcome home party. You were tempted to throw him out the window for setting up a party, especially one where you had to wear a dress, but you got away with one that went down to your knees, so it wasn’t quite as bad as the constant floor length dresses of Asgard.

    There was more dancing and drinking and you were sure Tony just set this up as an excuse to get sloshed.

    It wasn’t surprising at all to find yourselves around the living room coffee table, with everyone but you wearing at least one blue bandaid from your efforts to heal them all night. They were very clumsy with alcohol in them, which led to the inevitable argument. “Are you sure it’s whoever is worthy can lift the hammer,” Tony again tried to question the logic of how Thor’s hammer worked.

    Thor boomed his laugh and gestured to Mjolnir which was sitting in the middle of the coffee table. “Be my guest if you think you’re worthy,” Thor told him jovially. Tony got up and tried and tried to lift the hammer, but failed.

    They looked at Loki next. “I have had that question answered on numerous occasions. I am not worthy,” he replied.

    “I can vouch for that,” you laughed. “I believe you recently had Mjolnir sitting in a _very_ uncomfortable place,” you teased. Loki growled at you while the room howled in laughter. “If he could lift it, trust me, he would _not_ have let it stay there,” you continued teasing. Loki placed his cold hand over your mouth to make you stop.

    “Stop that, witchling,” he snarled, but kissed the top of your head. He managed to pull you into his lap, keeping his hand firmly over your mouth so you couldn’t continue that embarrassing story. You didn’t fight him. Yet.

    Everyone attempted, Clint failed and stuck his tongue out at Thor, Bruce growled and turned green around the edges, but to no avail. Cap nearly lifted it, it looked like he gave up so the others didn’t feel bad.  

    Everyone looked at Nat “I don’t need that question answered,” she said, refusing to try.

    “Loki, let Y/N go. She has to try,” Tony ordered. The others cheered and cajoled until Loki let you go. “Lift it! Lift it!” came the child-like chant of Tony. You sighed and got to your feet.

    “I’m not going to be worthy either,” you told them all. Thor had a glint in his eye, casually drinking his beer. You couldn’t imagine that he thought you would be worthy.

    “Just try, darling. They won’t give up until you do. No one’s expecting you to actually lift it,” Loki bid you gently. You sighed and took Mjolnir’s handle.

    “I’m not going to be able to lift this thing,” you told them, not bothering to look at the hammer you couldn’t lift, or paying attention to what you were doing as you automatically started talking with your hands, gesturing with the hand....wrapped around Mjolnir’s handle.

    You stared at the hammer in your hand while everyone stared at you.

    “Worthy!” Thor boomed, saluting you with his beer while everyone continued to stare in shock at the hammer in your hand.


	51. Chapter 51

    Once the shock died down some, you had to take a billion pictures of you holding the hammer and Thor promised to teach you how to use it later. It would be useful to have two members of the team who could actually use it. “How come _she’s_ worthy?” Tony demanded.

    Thor chuckled. “Healers often would be more inclined to be worthy, though most wouldn’t deign to hold a weapon, which would exclude them. My little sister, however, is perfectly willing to fight for a good cause. Of course Mjolnir would find her worthy,”

    “Does that means she gets to rule Asgard now?” Tony added a follow up while you tried to hide your extremely red face. You weren’t supposed to be worthy, just like everyone else.

    “Well, she _is_ a princess,” Loki added unhelpfully. “She’s not first in line to the throne, or _technically_ in the succession for another... 11 months, but the point remains,”

    “You’re not helping,” you told him grumpily, embarrassed by all of the attention.

    “Oi, Bobbsey Twins, what’s with the braids?” Tony asked, obviously more drunk than he admitted when he was being so random.

    “What are Bobbsey Twins?” Loki asked you, since Tony was obviously addressing the two of you, but he didn’t know the reference.

    “Just a famous pair of twins. They’re old children’s book characters,” you explained quickly. Loki nodded. You and your Asgardian boys weren’t nearly drunk. “The braids are lovelocks, Tony, do you really want me to explain Asgardian traditions right now, or were you just making fun?”

    “Just making fun,” he replied pleasantly. At least he was honest.

    Clint finally helped by bringing out the box of Cards Against Humanity to distract everyone with. You deducted five blue bandaids from him for rescuing you, which made sure he didn’t lose the contest.

    It was a fairly normal game of drunken silliness. It was fun hearing Thor say such awful words, and you were all surprised at how well he was doing. The entire team was made of terrible people so it was a pretty evenly matched game until:

    “If God didn’t want us to enjoy BLANK, he wouldn’t have given us BLANK,” Loki read off of the black card in front of him. He leaned back and closed his eyes so he couldn’t see whose answers were whose. You smirked as you picked the two cards you’d been holding onto for a few rounds now and laid them strategically so he’d pick yours last.

    You waited patiently for him to read through the others, a small smirk being all he gave of amusement at a particular answer. Until he read yours to himself a moment before he was supposed to read it aloud. He nearly fell off the couch he started laughing so hard. “What is it?!?” the team demanded, wanting to know what could have gotten Loki to have that reaction to the cards.

    He finally caught his breath and answered. “If God didn’t want us to enjoy Loki the Trickster God, he wouldn’t have given us That Ass,” he started laughing again. Everyone else laughed while they tried to figure out who played that. All eyes went to you as you stood and made an elegant bow. An instant later Loki was on his knees in front of you, bowing so deeply his head touched the floor. “That was impressively done, witchling.” He said when he rose from his bow. You were laughing as he handed over all of his black cards to you.

    “Yeah, I can’t beat that,” Tony folded too.

    The pictures of you holding Mjolnir and Loki bowing down to you were trending on the internet for at least three weeks straight. All of your pictures from Asgard were pretty popular too once you’d uploaded those. Loki was embarrassed of some of the tender moments with Frigga you’d caught on film, but he was pleased under the embarrassment. You sent him and Thor all of the pictures so they could treasure them too. You had thought your phone had been dead when Loki and Thor had been dancing last night, but you had gotten it to get one picture before it completely gave up. It had been one of the sexiest things you had ever seen and now you had photographic evidence of it.

    *

    You worked for a couple weeks working with Thor and Mjolnir. The lightning power was intimidating at first, but after a couple of attempts to use it, Thor had convinced you that it wouldn’t hurt. You anyway. Others it could very much hurt.

    The next mission you all went on, you and Thor spent the entire beginning of the battle throwing Mjolnir back and forth as you used it on bad guys. It was so much fun and all of the bad guys were somehow surprised even though the pictures had been trending for weeks. You tossed Mjolnir to Thor when you got a call across the battle that Clint had been shot. Again. You sighed in exasperation as you teleported over to heal him.

    Clint healed, you looked around the battle to see where you were needed next. Loki was surrounded by enemies so you teleported over to him. “Hello, love,” you greeted him.

    “Hello darling. Fancy meeting you here,” he teased. You grinned and drew a dagger.

    “Are these silly men bothering you?”

    “They are tediously trying to keep me away from you,” Loki whined while you both twirled and parried the attacks with daggers, having fun instead of actually fighting hard. It scared the bad guys more that you were purposely playing with them.

    “Shall I be offended and beat them up for you?” you teased back

    “WOULD YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING DURING BATTLE?” Tony roared over the comms. “I’m going to barf if you don’t knock it off,”

    You and Loki both proceeded to completely ignore him. “My lady’s offer is quite kind, though I feel I must remind you that I am not some helpless maiden in need of rescuing,”

    “Of course not. You are a self rescuing princess,” you replied with a smirk. That was a safe joke about his propensity to change genders. He laughed taking the joke as unmaliciously as you’d meant it.

    “You do know me too well, my darling witchling,” he replied jovially. You were both having way too much fun during this fight.

    “Have you had enough fun toying with the mortals?” you asked, offering him a glowing blue hand.

    “Quite enough, they have begun to bore me, and I would much prefer to spend the rest of the evening with my lady,” he replied and placed his glowing green hand in yours. Back-to-back you blasted the battle with power, quickly taking out the rest of the enemy.

    “Why don’t we start with that?” Tony grumbled while you turned to kiss Loki in a post-battle congratulatory kiss. “Oi, lovebirds, knock it off and let’s go eat!”

    SHIELD rounded up the bad guys and the entire team found the nearest hole-in-the-wall restaurant to eat at. In uniform. You were all covered in dirt and grime from the battle, but no one seemed to care as you sat sleepily around the table your group claimed and ate greasy delicious food as fast as the owners would bring it to you. Pictures were taken and you had to pose for the owners, but it was worth it for the tradition of finding the nearest unknown restaurant and getting them super famous for having the team eat there after battles.


	52. Chapter 52

    You were only half awake at best as you piled on the jet SHIELD sent too early one morning shortly after you’d gotten home. “Why do we have to do this again?” you whined, cradling your cup of coffee as you boarded the jet. At least you could wear normal clothes for this, jeans and a t-shirt with Loki’s helmet on it, because you saw it in a shop and thought it was funny.

    “Because Fury ordered us all to make an appearance on the helicarrier, and we like to keep him happy when he’s not being unreasonable,” Nat replied kindly. She had a short, vicious argument with the pilot over who was going to fly. Unsurprisingly, she won. The pilot should have just given up instead of making her knock him out.

    “Some kind of team evaluations or physicals or something,” Clint added. He gave you a look. “Mind getting that guy out of my seat?” he gestured to the copilot chair. “I’d ask boyfriend, but he’d just kill the guy,” he looked at Loki, who shrugged, not denying that he’d kill the guy.

    You looked over at the copilot. “Are you going to make me get up and put my coffee down to remove you from that chair, or will you be reasonable and your pride intact?” you asked him innocently, grumpy since you hadn’t had enough coffee yet. At least you and Loki had gotten seats together. No one was stupid enough to argue on that point.

    “I’m not afraid of a little girl. I can take you, little healer, and if you play nice you might even enjoy it,” the copilot replied with too much flirtation for it to be innocent, and too much double-entendre in his words. You glared, not caring that your outfit _did_ make you look younger than you were. You weren’t a little girl, and he shouldn’t be flirting or threatening that obnoxiously either way! The entire team cringed at his comment, their hackles rising to your defense. You heard Thor murmuring a prayer that the man’s soul would be accepted into the halls of Valhalla.

    “What did you say about me?” you growled at the pilot, who seemed to finally realize that he had messed up. You stood, your battle armor appearing in place as you did. You handed your coffee to Loki. “Hold my coffee,” you told him firmly.

    He smirked, getting ready to enjoy your display. “Kick his ass, baby. I got yo coffee,” he grinned, proud of himself for remembering the ‘hold my flower’ meme.

    You went to the copilot and lifted him by the throat out of Clint’s seat. “I am Sigyn of Asgard and a respected member of the Avengers team. I am not a little girl, nor am I an object for your desires,” you snarled as you held him above your head. He struggled and gasped and tried to croak an apology. “Disrespecting any member of the Avengers Initiative is stupid. Disrespecting me in front of my fiance is even _more_ stupid and you should be _eternally_ grateful that he is letting me deal with you myself. He would not be nearly as generous as I am. You will _never_ speak to a member of the team like that again. And you _will_ learn to respect women.” After a few tricky pieces of magic, he was suitably punished with an inability to ‘perform’ unless he was respectful to the woman he wanted to perform with, mummified in ropes from mouth to toes, and thrown across the jet so he landed in a crumpled heap.

    “Your seat’s open,” you told Clint and made your way back to your own seat. Clint nodded and took his seat to help Nat fly this thing. Loki calmly handed you your coffee back while your battle armor faded back to normal clothes. Loki draped an arm around you while you sipped on your coffee in the silent jet. The rest of the team was still staring in awe. They saw you fight plenty, but didn’t often see you with your temper actually up.

    “I would have broken a few more bones,” Nat finally commented.

    “You’re welcome to,” you replied as you contentedly sipped on your coffee.

    “Maybe later. We’ll let him sweat for awhile,” she grinned maliciously at the man who was bound on the floor of the jet.

    “I can still kill him for you if you’d like, witchling,” Loki offered pleasantly. “Though that was an impressive little piece of magic stopping him from... what is the Midgardian phrase?” he asked, sounding like he had genuinely forgotten it.

    “Getting it up,” you supplied. He grinned and the rest of the team laughed.

    “Yes, that one. Quite impressive and I shall not be asking how and why you learned that particular spell,”

    “Wise decision,” you replied and leaned up to kiss his cheek. He kissed the top of your head in reply.

    “You can do that?” one of the guys asked incredulously, staring at the mummified man in disbelief. “Ma’am?” he added quickly, before anyone could be offended. You inclined your head. He whistled, impressed. You finished your coffee and vanished the mug.

    One of the agents woke you from your doze by coming too close to where you were curled up with Loki. A dagger was in your hand as you startled awake. Loki was smiling as he took the dagger from you and vanished it. He was pleased that your automatic response was to protect you both.

    It was a kid, someone who looked like a new agent who had come over to bother you. “Um... Mr. Laufeyson, sir...” he started. Poor kid. Loki could be intimidating even when he wasn’t trying. He was definitely going to be trying when they sent this kid to be slaughtered by Loki.

    “Yes?” he asked, his tone polite, but bored as he looked up from his book. You knew that overly polite look on his face. This kid needed to be super careful to avoid being killed, or worse.

    The kid held up a pair of shackles with a short chain in between. “Sir, it’s the rules-” the kid said desperately. Ah, they were trusting that Loki wouldn’t kill a kid who was following orders. That was dumb.

    Especially when you snarled and had a dagger to the kid’s throat a moment later. “Darling, do not kill the child on my account,” Loki told you calmly, returning to his book unconcerned.

    “Fine,” you held out your hand and Mjolnir came flying to it. “I’ll just knock him out a little instead,”

    “Is anyone brave enough to tell her it’s the rules?” Tony asked casually from across the jet.

    “I... don’t think that will help,” Bruce replied, watching the scene helplessly.

    “What rules?” you demanded of the room at large.

    “They believe I am dangerous and need to have my powers bound and that I must be shackled to hinder my fighting ability while I am onboard their precious Helicarrier,” Loki answered without looking up from his book. He flipped the page absently.

    “Well that’s just stupid. It’s been over a year since he’s lived here and I’m not letting you shackle him without better reason than ‘it’s the rules’,” you told them, keeping yourself firmly planted between Loki and the kid with the shackles. He looked to his superior.

    “Nat, call Fury,” Cap ordered, seeing that the stalemate wasn’t going to end. Nat spoke with Fury briefly.

    “He’s willing to compromise to just binding Loki’s powers,” Nat finally answered. You glared. That wasn’t good enough. “He said otherwise Loki is spending the entire time in one of the containment cells.”

    Loki touched your arm. “The game is over, darling. That’s the best you’re going to get out of them,”

    “It’s not fair,” you protested. He chuckled.

    “Of course it isn’t. Very little in life is actually fair, witchling. You should know that as well as I, but we can play nice with the SHIELD agents, so next time we have to visit they won’t be so irrational,” Loki replied logically. You leaned down to kiss him.

    “Are you sure?” you asked, hating that they were doing this to him.

    “Yes, love. It will be fine. You’ll just have to protect me from the mean SHIELD agents,” he teased. You laughed and kissed him again. You tossed Mjolnir back to Thor and settled back in your seat, curling back into Loki’s arms, laying your head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of your head. Tony pressed a few buttons on his phone and there was a resounding beep from the tech on Loki’s wrist.

    You leaned up to Loki’s ear. “I still have the key,” you whispered so softly that only he could possibly hear. He smirked at you.

    “Of course you do, witchling. See? We can play along, for a little while,” he replied and kissed you. You summoned him a cup of tea and curled back up with him, closing your eyes.

    “Why is it the tiniest most adorable member of the team is also the most terrifying?” one of the agents asked softly awhile later when he assumed you were asleep.

    “I’m glad you noticed I’m terrifying,” Nat replied loudly. You snorted a laugh. “And she fights for what she believes in, which unfortunately for you is often Loki. Otherwise she’s an annoyingly self-sacrificing healer,”

    “Hey!” you protested.

    “It’s true,” the rest of the team agreed. You grumbled at them all and stuck your tongue out at Nat, which just made them laugh all the harder.

    “All healers are that way, witchling,” Loki told you kindly and kissed you before you could protest.


	53. Chapter 53

    “What happened to Agent Briggs?” Fury asked after everyone had disembarked from the jet and into the Helicarrier proper. One of the agents was dragging the mummified agent, who was apparently named Briggs. The agents all looked away, unwilling to answer Fury’s question on what happened.

    “He insulted my lady,” Loki replied, his arm wrapped possessively around you. You leaned up to kiss his cheek reassuringly. You were alive and well; as happy as you could be when you’d prefer to be at home, but you’d take what you could get.

    Fury’s eyebrow rose. “How is he still alive?” he asked suspiciously. It wasn’t like Loki to let someone insult you without a very high payment for it.

    Loki smirked and kissed your hair. “Because my lady punished him sufficiently on her own,” his voice was full of pride, which you saw just seemed to make Fury even more concerned.

    “And every single member of the Avengers ‘accidentally’,” the agent speaking made the air quotes “kicked and stepped on him on the way out. Except Lady Sigyn of course,” he added, nodding to you.

    You shrugged at Fury’s look. “I already did enough defending my honor,”

    “Again. How is he still alive?” Fury asked with a glance at Loki.

    “My darling would not let me kill him,” Loki finally grumbled with a hint of a whine in his tone. That wasn’t true, but you saw what he was doing and didn’t call him on the lie. SHIELD had the awful tendency of believing that Loki was a heartless monster who was uncontrollable and just wanted to take over the world. They were wrong of course. Granted, he was vicious when angered and had a possessive streak, but he was also a good man. SHIELD wasn’t likely to change their opinion of him anytime soon, but you? You were a tiny adorable healer who could be reasoned with. You were also one of the few people Loki actually liked and one of the fewer people (or the only one on Midgard besides his brother, and that was rare) that he listened to. He was setting you up as even more important, telling them flat out that you could control him. He was making sure you were safe by showing SHIELD how important you were. Sneaky Trickster.

    You weren’t about to ruin his work either, so you leaned up and kissed his cheek again. “There’s no need to kill him, love. He didn’t do anything more than say something crude,”

    “He openly threatened your honor,” Loki protested, taking a step toward the bound man.

    “And I punished him for it. I’m not some weak little mortal you need to protect,” you reminded him firmly. He looked like he was going to argue and you saw the glint in his eye. This was part of the game, so you stepped out from his possessive grip and turned to face him, pointing a finger at his face. “Behave,” you told him firmly.

    He sighed heavily and took your hand to bow over it and kiss your knuckles. “Very well...this time,” he said as he began to rise from his bow. You kissed him lightly before he could rise all the way, then turned your attention back to Fury.

    Fury seemed to accept the show, or at least didn’t feel like commenting on it, which was a good thing. “Agent Romanoff, show Loki and Sigyn around and to their room. The rest of you should know your way around. Assessments begin in an hour,” Fury ordered. You had a feeling he was tired of your antics already. Boy, was he in for a surprise. This was nothing. Tony and Bruce were already heading to the lab, completely ignoring Fury as they discusses some science project that they needed SHIELD’s tech for. Cap went with Fury to the bridge for a debrief. Clint was just...gone. You suspected the air vents.

    Nat gave you a tour of the airship, including the bridge, the lab which currently held the science bros, the containment cell where you’d find Loki if he got caught causing trouble, the rec room, and the Avengers common room in the middle of all of their bedrooms. She finally showed you your room. “We told Fury you’d prefer bunking together,” Nat explained at the fact that she was leading you to only one room. That was smart, especially with Loki’s powers bound. You weren’t planning on leaving him on his own. “Get changed and meet us on the bridge,” Nat told you and turned to head to her own room to get ready.

    “Why can’t we wear our own gear?” you whined as you opened the door to your room. The room was simple, smaller than the bedrooms at the tower, really nothing more than a bed and dresser. “We’re going to have to share a bathroom with Thor,” you whined. You held up the SHIELD uniform that was on the bed.

    “That is a terrible idea,” Loki agreed. “And I would much prefer my own clothes to...this,” he grumbled

    “Oh hush, you look hot no matter what you wear,” you teased. “I’m going to look like Nat’s ragamuffin little sister,” you whined before you sighed and began putting on the stupid uniform, black pants, black tank top, black jacket, black gauntlets, a stupid thigh gun holster with a gun you’d never use, and of course black combat boots. You summoned a dagger sheath for your back which was way more practical. You turned to Loki as he zipped up the jacket on his nearly identical outfit, while you braided your hair out of the way. “Handsome as ever,” you told him. He preened under the praise. “Silly peacock,” you teased and helped him tie his hair out of the way, leaving the lovelock loose as usual. You had no idea what these assessments would entail or why.

    “You look lovely, darling. Nothing at all like Lady Natasha,” Loki reassured you.

    You looked over his outfit more closely and rolled your eyes. “They could have at least armed you,” you grumbled and summoned a dagger in a sheath for him.

    He smirked. “Just because they do not offer me a weapon, does not mean I am without,” he replied. He always had blades hidden, today was not an exception.

    You pressed the dagger you had summoned into his hands. “Accept your lady’s token,” you told him firmly. He smiled and strapped the dagger sheath on.

    “As my lady wishes,” he replied with an elegant bow.

    You laughed. “Come along, silly Trickster. Let’s get this over with,” you took his hand to walk with him up to the bridge.

    “Took you two long enough,” Fury barked when you arrived. You looked around.

    “We beat Stark and Banner,” you replied, taking seats at the table.

    “At least we aren’t playing Galaga,” Tony replied as he and Bruce finally entered the room, also wearing stupid SHIELD uniforms. “Hurry this up, Fury. We’re all in peak physical condition. I have other things to do today,”

    “That’s what this is about?” you demanded. “We’re Aesir, we can’t get human illnesses, so can we just go home?”

    “All of you are designed just to give me a headache. How do you not kill each other or blow up the tower every other day?” Fury groaned. “Everyone has to go through physical assessments every year. It’s mandatory. The sooner you children behave, the faster it’s over and the faster you can get back to your lives and off of my ship,”

    Cap looked over at you. “You’ve gotten sick before,” he finally said.

    You nodded. “We found out that Freya, my mother, used magic to make me appear human until my identity was discovered. She must’ve known I’d meet up with Thor and Loki at some point. So I got sick like a human. I haven’t been sick since,”

    You found out that no only were the assessments physical medical exams, but strength and stamina tests, demonstrations of powers, the entire SHIELD new agent entrance exam. It was brutal and awful and you wanted to kill Fury for it. There was no reason for this, he knew what you all could do. Loki had his powers unbound for the assessments, though he rolled his eyes and complained it was a waste of time during the whole thing. You agreed with him wholeheartedly.

    “C’mon, Sig, just spar the agent,” the test administrator begged when you were being particularly difficult. You looked over the guy.

    “I really don’t feel like killing anyone today,” you replied sourly.

    “It’s just hand to hand combat,” she protested.

    “You aren’t making Thor and Loki spar humans,” you replied grumpily. “I’m Asgardian too,”

    “Darling, just beat up the poor agent. It will be entertaining,” Loki told you. You sighed and handed him your dagger.

    “Fine. Keep an eye on this?” you had a habit of reaching for daggers automatically.

    “Of course,” he replied with a smirk and began flipping and twirling your dagger, showing off. You were laughing as you stepped onto the mats.

    “I’m not going to go easy on you, sweetheart,” the guy told you. You growled and stripped off your jacket, gauntlets and boots.

    “Loki~ he’s being mean to me~” you whined, looking like you took your eyes off of the guy, but keeping him in your peripheral vision.

    “I suggest that you hit him, darling. That should teach him a lesson,” Loki replied jovially. As expected, your banter made the agent charge you. You nimbly sidestepped him and tripped him in one movement. A moment later you had him pinned to the ground, his arm bent backwards so hard that you were a centimeter from breaking bone. The agent slapped the mat and you reluctantly let him up.

    The administrator sighed. “Can you _please_ do it properly?” she whined.

    You sighed. “Fine,” you settled into your fighting stance in preparation. You felt bad for the poor guy, but that didn’t stop you from quickly dispatching him with a mix of combat skills from Loki and Frigga, and dirty tricks from Nat. He was crying in a ball of the floor in less than a minute. You stepped off the mats and the terrified administrator finally let you go.

    Your assessment came back that you were terrifying and it was a good thing you were a healer, worthy of wielding Mjolnir, and somehow keeping control of a particular trickster god.

    Somehow some dumb agents decided to play poker against Loki, Nat, and Tony that night. You sat next to Loki and he taught you how to play, whispering in Asgardian. Those poor dumb agents lost all of their paychecks for like the next month before Fury called a stop to the game calling you all dumb children.

    He called the rest of the dumb agents on the ship much worse names when Thor, Cap, Tony, Nat, and Loki were challenged to a drinking contest. The agents needed medical attention while Tony was only drunk and the rest were just happily tipsy at best. Fury came back roaring about how much trouble you all were and to stop messing with his agents. You told him in your most innocent voice that the agents had started the trouble and what does he expect when they invited the team to share a drink? Fury let the issue go, but only after all of the agents had been kicked from your common room.

    “C’mon, silly tipsy thing, off to bed with you before your silver tongue turns to lead,” you told Loki, not forgetting the last time he’d been drunk.

    “But Sig~” he whined. He was getting too tipsy. You hauled him to his feet.

    “Walk, trickster, or I’m carrying you,” you threatened.

    “Can’t,” he informed you with a drunken laugh. Shit. He’d gotten more tipsy than you thought. Thor held up the flask of excelsior and you calmly flipped him off while he laughed at your burden of a drunk Loki. You sighed and bent grabbing one of Loki’s arms and legs and hauled him up onto your back in a fireman’s carry as you stood. He yelped in surprise.

    “Can too,” you told him, holding him firmly across your shoulders. You waved to the others and carried your Loki to bed.

    *

    The agents realized after you’d left the helicarrier that all of the coffee on the helicarrier disappeared, all of the coffee makers were mysteriously broken, all of the screensavers and desktop backgrounds were now stuck to an image of Stark in a speedo, the entire bridge was filled with snakes to annoy Fury, and everyone’s uniforms had been dyed bright pink. Loki was blamed, but no one had _seen_ him do any of those things and you were an innocent healer, you would never do such a thing no matter how annoyed you were at Fury for those stupid two days of assessments. Plus Loki’s powers had been bound except for maybe an hour when he was being tested. So they really couldn’t blame either of you.

    They should have just blamed you both and been done with it. That was the safer thing to do...also the more accurate.


	54. Chapter 54

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I literally typed this up in the car on a roadtrip and posted it the second I had wifi while waiting for my number to be called at the book signing I'm attending tonight. Typos are everywhere. You have been warned.

    You barely saw Loki over the next few weeks. Since your powers and abilities were nearly identical, you were getting split up on missions where the team was split on separate missions. Which was happening more and more often it seemed.

    School started and you somehow added a full class load to your other responsibilities. Your 19th birthday came and went with a party with your friends.

    Loki had to go on a mission with most of the team while you were without your powers that month. You stayed behind at the tower. He was beyond livid when he found out you’d been left alone in the tower those three days with _no_ protections, because the rest of the team had gotten called out to a separate mission. He yelled at Cap for a day straight for letting you be in danger, and wouldn’t listen that you were perfectly fine and safe. Loki vowed he was _never_ allowing that to happen again.

    *

    Somehow you both got a Saturday off together. Neither of you were sure how that happened, but you weren’t questioning it either. You intended to sleep in that morning, but stirred when you realized that Loki wasn’t in the bed with you. That wasn’t right.

    So you climbed out of bed to go find your wayward Loki.

    It took some hunting, but you finally found him in the kitchen cooking. You smiled and stepped up behind where he was working at the stove, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind and kissing the nape of his neck, in the spot he loved having kissed, but was usually hidden by hair. He’d tied his hair back while he cooked. “Morning witchling,” he greeted you warmly. “You were supposed to wait in bed until I brought you breakfast,” he told you with a small pout.

    You laughed in reply at how adorable he was with his plans thwarted. “You weren’t in bed, so I had to come find you,” you informed him. His smile lit up his eyes and he kissed you, touched that you would come find him just because he wasn’t in the bed. “You’re being awfully romantic this morning,” you teased as he steered you to a little two-person table and chairs that had appeared in the kitchen. The table had a little vase with a single rose in it at the middle of the table. Loki kissed your cheek when he had seated you.

    “Do I need a reason to dote upon my darling?” he asked warmly.

    You gave him a wary look. “No, but you often do when you’re going to these extremes. What mischief are you up to, Trickster?” you asked him firmly. He laughed and went to finish making breakfast.

    “I have done nothing. There is something I wished to ask you, though,” he admitted carefully, obviously watching his words. Silver tongued trickster...

    “So bribery?” you asked with a grin as he set a plate of pancakes in front of you before he took the other seat at the table.

    “Nothing so sinister,” he reassured you. He wasn’t lying, so you dug into your pancakes.

    “How are these so good?” you moaned softly, savoring the pancakes. He was such a good cook.

    He chuckled. You always loved his cooking on the rare occasions you actually got him to cook. “I am glad my lady is pleased,” he preened under your praise. You ate your breakfast in companionable conversation over light things, mostly caching up on recent missions.

    Right when it seemed that Loki had plucked up the courage to ask you whatever his question was, Thor stomped half-asleep into the room and made his way directly to the pot of coffee. You didn’t see how, but somehow when Thor was turning to get his mug, he dropped the entire pot down Loki’s back. The pot was fresh and nearly boiling hot. Loki howled in pain and you jumped to your feet, summoning a towel at the same time.

    “Thor you blasted blundering oaf!” Loki yelled, writhing in pain as you got him to lean forward. You wiped as much of the coffee off of him as you could and removed his shirt with magic so you could see the burn damage. It was awful. Loki was already susceptible to heat because of his frost giant heritage, any kind of burn damage to him was always so much worse than on a human.

    “Oh gods, Brother, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Thor was saying while Loki whimpered in pain, resting his head on his folded arms on the table so you could work unimpeded on his back.

    “Shh, love, it’ll be ok,” you soothed as you placed your glowing hands gently on his back to begin to heal the damage. He hissed when your hands touched him. “I’m sorry, love, I’m sorry,” you told him gently as you worked. “Sorry, love, burns are hard. I know, I know, just a minute,” you said softly, trying to sooth the awful pained sounds he was making as you work. “Thor, I am going to stab you for this,” you growled while Loki whimpered so pathetically you were tempted to just stab Thor right now. “Thor, get me ice from the freezer,” you ordered firmly. Loki protested in a whimper. “I know, darling, I know. I need to make sure your other form heals too, if it weren’t a _burn_ I’d trust the healing,” you told him. “And I know you won’t voluntarily change forms,” you added grumpily, hating forcing him to do it “so I’m sorry for this,” you finished softly as Thor handed you all of the ice he could get from the freezer. You began carefully placing it on Loki’s back, starting at the nape of his neck. At least he didn’t move or protest anymore. He shivered as his Jotun form took over, affected by the cold. You were right to check, as his back still needed more work before it was completely healed. “There now, all fixed,” you told him softly.

    “Take care of him, I’ll clean up here,” Thor ordered.

    You nodded and wrapped one of Loki’s arms over your shoulders, one of your arms around his waist and hauled him to his feet. “Come on, love. You reek of coffee,” you told him gently and steered him from the room, glad he was recovered enough to at least walk, even if you had to support him.

    You realized when you saw the shocked expressions on the others’ faces as they were slowly making their way to the kitchen for breakfast that they had never seen Loki’s Jotun form before. It wasn’t something he willingly showed everyone, even you had only seen it a couple of times. “What happened?” Nat asked, rushing over to offer to help. She seemed the least phased by Loki’s appearance.

    “Accident in the kitchen. Don’t touch him. His skin will frost-burn humans,” you warned. Loki was still shirtless and you didn’t want Nat to get hurt. Asgardians were less susceptible, unless the frost giant was actively trying to hurt them. Loki was groggy, thank all the gods, or he would have been so embarrassed to be seen like this. Burns were draining, especially for him, even after being healed. “Stark, if you say one word, or if I hear the word ‘smurf’ come out of your mouth, I am going to throw you bodily through that window,” you pointed at one to emphasize your threat. Loki made a soft noise. You had to get him out of here before he became more aware of his surroundings. “C’mon love,” you bid him gently and steered him to the elevator.

    You had him naked in the ice cold shower before he finally came back to himself. Loki stiffened when he realized what was going on. “You shouldn’t-” he started, embarrassed. “I appreciate, but-” he was flustered.

    You rolled your eyes and took pity on him, sighing dramatically. “Love, firstly, I’m a healer, I knew what the male body looked like long before I saw yours. Secondly, I have seen the show. From every angle. Sometimes multiple times a night. Why are you suddenly shy?”

    “You’ve never seen me like _this_!” he protested, gesturing toward his body.

    “Naked? Sure I have. Plenty of times. Including just last night,” you replied innocently, ignoring what he was actually getting at.

    He glared at your purposeful ignorance of his actual point. “Jotun” he clarified, gesturing again to his very blue body.

    You shrugged. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t care what form you have? You’re still gorgeous in any of them, and still my Loki,” he finally relaxed then, hearing the open honesty in your voice. He kissed you while you shivered under the ice cold shower. “What was it you were going to ask?” you asked him through chattering teeth.

    He smiled and kissed your forehead. “Later, dearest. This shower is helping me, but it is much too cold for little witchlings. Go warm up while I get rid of the rest of this coffee stench,” you kissed him again lightly before you got out of the shower to go hide under the fluffy blankets on your bed until you could stop shivering.

    *

    “Darling, come on, we have to practice. Stark is having the ball tomorrow,” Loki told you once he was out of the shower, dressed, and back to normal form.

    “Loki, we know the moves, we don’t need to practice,” you protested, finally warm again.

    His lips were against your ear, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine when he spoke again. “Witchling, we will look quite ridiculous if we cannot do the Asgardian dances properly,” he whispered.

    “Fine,” you relented and climbed out of the bed with its nice fluffy blankets. A shimmer of magic and you were wearing a floor length ball gown. You headed down to the ballroom with Loki to practice. He was, of course, in a suit. “Weren’t you going to ask me something?” you reminded him when you had reached the middle of the ballroom floor.

    “Dance with me first?” he asked, holding his hand out to you palm up.

    You smiled at your silly trickster and placed your hand in his. “Of course. That _is_ why we’re down here after all,” you laughed. He chuckled and shifted position for the beginning of For the Dancing and the Dreaming. You shifted to mirror his pose. The music started and so the dance and the singing. You were right that you didn’t need to practice. You both knew the dance so well it was unthinking grace and joy in the fun of the movements of the dance together.

    You were on the very last line of the song when Tony burst into the room. “Good! You’re here!” he announced loudly while Loki growled in anger and frustration. Thor, Pepper, and Nat joined him and you had to spend the next couple of hours helping Tony and Pepper finish polishing the dance for the ball tomorrow. Loki was an upset frustrated mess the entire time, which just amused them.

    Nat dragged you away afterwards to show off some new weapon while your friends laughed at Loki’s growing frustration and rage. They were having too much fun teasing him.

    *

    Something was going on, since the team kept passing you from teammate to teammate on some urgent repair or healing or piece of magic they needed, all the while Loki’s temper frayed and frayed. Whatever game they were playing was dangerous indeed.

    Loki finally stole you back that evening when you got finished healing a cut Clint had gotten fixing something in the air vents. Loki was wearing his perfectly tailored all black suit when he found you. You smiled when you saw him. “Put on something nice, witchling. I’m taking you out for dinner. And none of our friends will be interrupting,” he bid you with a smile. You used magic to don a black and green dress, heels, and do your hair and makeup. Magic was damn useful.

    “Nice enough?” you asked. He smiled warmly, took your hand, and lifted it to his lips to kiss your knuckles.

    “You look wonderful darling,” he replied. He moved your hand to his arm and led you from the tower.

    He drove you to a familiar fancy restaurant. It was the one where you’d had your first date. This time he didn’t have to tell you to stand tall and not be afraid of entering such a fancy place. You’d lived in a palace for over a month during the summer and were very nearly a princess. You could handle something as simple as eating at a fancy restaurant, even when paparazzi showed up and took pictures of the two of you. It was a common occurrence and happened to all of the Avengers when they left the tower.

    The meal was delicious and it was nice to spend a nice quiet evening out with Loki. It was a rarity these days.

    It would have been perfect had you not received an emergency call right as they were bringing dessert out to you. Loki growled as the call came over the comms that the team needed you. They were fighting hydra agents and Clint, Nat, and Thor were all wounded. You sighed and folded your napkin. Loki growled in frustration, patted the pocked of his jacket, and then folded his own napkin to stand before you. You apologized to the wait staff for having to miss dessert, dropped way more cash on the table than you bill would actually cost, used magic to don your battle armor to the cheers of the restaurant, and teleported with Loki to the location Cap had given.

    The battle was brutal. Loki covered you while you healed your fallen teammates. Once that was done, you got to the battle proper.

    “Loki~ they’re being so mean,” you whined, automatically starting up your playful banter with Loki.

    “I know, dearest, we were having such a nice evening too,”

    You smacked one hard with Mjolnir. “You. Interrupted. My. Date.” You told the men surrounding you as you smacked them with Mjolnir. You tossed the hammer back to Thor when he reached for it.

    Daggers drawn, you whirled and fought, wondering why these morons even bothered. They had to know they were going to lose. “Shall I kill them for you, darling?” Loki asked.

    “Well, they are trying to kill us. It’s quite rude. Plus they ruined my date,”

    “As my lady wishes,” Loki replied with an elegant bow and jumped right back into the battle. “I still have not had the opportunity to ask you that question from this morning,” he whined as he worked.

    You laughed. “So you’re going to ask now?”

    “I _was_ going to ask at breakfast this morning, and then at the end of the dance, and then during dessert,” he whined. You were laughing when you turned to him.

    “And what was so important to ask me?” you asked with a grin.

    He dropped to one knee, holding out a ring box.

    The entire battle froze, staring in disbelief that Loki would _propose_ in the middle of battle. You thought it was perfect.

    Someone broke the silence, firing off a shot at Loki and missed. “Excuse you, I am _trying_ to propose here. Rude...” Loki commented and casually threw a dagger at the shooter. The guy fell to the ground an instant later. “Now, where was I?” he turned his attention back to you, but his casual killing of the shooter had unfrozen the battle and it raged on more vicious than ever.

    You offered him a hand when he had to stand again, growling at getting interrupted again. But he couldn’t continue what he was doing when you were both being actively shot at. Neither of you were bullet proof and a lot of attention and care went to keeping you alive during “Shall we?” you asked. He took your hand and with more power than truly necessary, your magic burst across the battle, taking out everyone and nearly everything that wasn’t a teammate or civilian.

    “Seriously, why don’t you two _start_ with that spell?” Tony demanded. You went to Loki and laid your head on his chest tiredly. You’d had to use quite a bit of power today. Your response to Tony was to flip him off.

    “It’s fucking exhausting to use that spell,” you growled, power drain and exhaustion sharpening your temper.

    Suddenly your back was to Loki, one of his arms around your waist in a way that pinned your arms to your sides and pinned you against him. He casually reached a hand up to your ear and gently removed the comm device, throwing it to the ground at Cap’s feet, since he was the closest. His own comm landed at Cap’s feet a moment later. His hand sneaked into the pocket of your costume and he pulled out your phone, tossing it with his on the pile with the comm devices. Loki’s hand clamped over your mouth before you could protest. “I am kidnapping the healer,” he snarled at the others, a malicious growl in his tone. You made a soft noise behind his hand. “Hush,” he told you gently. The others were looking on with a mix of tentative laughter and tentative fear. They weren’t entirely convinced he was joking.

    “Brother,” Thor’s voice was a warning. He wasn’t convinced Loki was joking either. Loki’s grip tightened on you and he glared at the others.

    “Like I said, I am kidnapping the healer, hiding her away where you will never find her. I will return her in time for the ball tomorrow evening, provided you do not come looking for her,” Loki told them, a hint of a smirk in his voice since they weren’t fighting to get you back. They were wary, but nearly trusted that this was a joke, a trick. Besides, Loki wouldn’t actually hurt you.

    “Have fun,” Thor teased, he saw the glint of mischief in Loki’s eyes. The game of interrupting Loki’s proposal was over. Loki inclined his head and the next moment the two of you were gone.

    You reappeared in a hidden nook of a rose garden, the full moon and stars above you the only light. It looked so similar to Loki’s favorite alcove in the palace gardens of Asgard. “Finally, some quiet,” he purred as he finally let you go. You turned to face him with a smile.

    “So you’re kidnapping me?” you asked with a grin.

    “Verily, it was the only way that I would be able to do this without my idiot brother and his stupid friends interrupting,” he dropped gracefully back to one knee, holding out the ring in its box. “I know we are already betrothed on Asgard, but that was not our decision, nor Midgardian tradition. So I wanted to ask, my darling witchling, if you will do me the honor of being my wife?”

    “Yes!” you agreed automatically, touched that he had thought about the traditions you grew up with and actively realizing for the first time that this wedding you were going to go through on Asgard wasn’t really just to appease his people.

    You truly loved Loki and absolutely wanted to spend the rest of your very long lives together.

    He slid the ring carefully on your finger as he stood and an instant later his lips were on yours.


	55. Chapter 55

You and Loki lay together under the stars in the rose alcove, laying on his cape spread on the ground. He had wrapped your cape around you as a blanket. The slight chill didn’t bother him at all. It was so mundane and normal. Ok, besides the shielding around the alcove so you wouldn’t be interrupted or spied on. It was a perfect evening of pointing out constellations.

A prince and princess laying happily in the grass under the stars.

Who would’ve thought?

*

“Come along, my darling hostage,” Loki told you once the hour was getting late. He was getting up and pulling you up with him. 

“Still a hostage?” you teased as you shook grass off of your cape. You were both still in your battle costumes. Loki smirked and kissed your forehead.

“Verily, but a hostage I would like happy so she doesn’t put up a fight, so come along,” he took your hand firmly and started leading you from the alcove. You mistakenly decided to tease him and dug in your heels, just to see what he’d do. He sighed heavily. “Darling, kindly let me kidnap you in peace. The mortals will get upset if I must do it properly,” you were laughing as you went with him willingly. You didn’t want his image besmirched by whatever ‘kidnapping you properly’ entailed. You knew he’d do it, though, to keep up his game.

“Fine, but only so the mortals don’t get upset,” you teased. 

“Wise decision, princess,” Loki replied and kissed the top of your head. It was only a short walk to your destination, what looked to be an extremely fancy hotel. “Oh, before we get there and you decide you dislike being a hostage and try to escape,” his tone was teasing as he lifted your hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. Just like any normal day. Except that when he gave you hand back, there was a green glyph on the back of it. You raised an eyebrow. He bopped your nose with a long finger. “No magic out of you until I decide to return you. Be a good hostage and I’ll treat you kindly,” he told you with a smirk.

“Loki!” you protested indignantly. You then, of course, had to test it. Your magic was there and perfectly useable. He would just know if you did. Silly Trickster was just enjoying his game. “Fine,” you huffed. He laughed and offered you his arm to lead you into the hotel.

“Loki, Lady Sigyn. We have been expecting you,” the manager behind the front desk greeted you. It was pretty obvious who you were when you were both still in your battle costumes. Loki was still even wearing his helmet. Loki inclined his head as you stepped up to the counter. The manager handed the room keys to Loki with instructions on how to get there since Loki didn’t want to be shown. “Here is your Lady’s itinerary for tomorrow as well,” the manager told Loki with a smile and handed him the packet of information. 

You opened your mouth to question what itinerary, but Loki kissed the top of your head. “It’s a surprise, darling,” he told you gently and shared a knowing look with the manager. 

“Your bags are already in your room as requested, and the meal you requested will be sent up shortly,” the manager added. “Is there anything else you need this evening?”

“No, thank you,” Loki replied, perfectly polite. The manager looked relieved that he was not being smote where he stood. It seemed there was a reason that the manager was handling Loki and not leaving the task to one of his underlings. Brave man if he thought Loki were truly dangerous. He had nothing to worry about with happy Loki. This playful Loki was perfectly safe.

Loki led you to the elevator to get to your room. The second the elevator doors slid shut, he bent and had you thrown over his shoulder the next moment. “Loki!” you protested, loudly, indignant as you tried to figure out how to get him to put you down without hurting him. 

“Ah, much better,” he teased, while you squirmed to get free. “It just didn’t quite feel like a proper kidnapping,” he said mournfully. You smacked his back again, but couldn’t help laughing at your silly trickster.

He carried you to the room, and you were sure the lovely security people were having a field day watching over the cameras. Hopefully, they didn’t sell the footage, though you knew Loki wouldn’t have chosen a hotel that would. He opened the door and kicked it shut behind you. He didn’t set you down again until you were in the separate bedroom of the fancy suite. He kissed you lightly, then gestured to the bathroom. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll lay something out for you to wear,” he told you with a smile. 

“You’re having way too much fun with this game, Trickster,” you teased. You stood up on your toes to kiss him again before you did as you were bid. You hadn’t cleaned up properly after the battle earlier that evening. As promised, Loki had left something for you to wear. You weren’t sure whether to laugh or stab him for the sexy article of clothing he had left you. It was a black babydoll dress, made of super soft fabric. You slipped it on and used a small charm to dry your hair. Loki had said no magic, but even he wouldn’t complain about hair spells. Hell, he’d taught them to you early in your magical studies. There was a matching short black robe on the bed waiting for you. You slipped it on and went to find your Loki.

He was in the living room, waiting for you wearing nothing but lounge pants. He came over and kissed you hungrily. “You look lovely, witchling,” he told you between kisses. You were both startled at the knock at the door. Loki whirled, dagger in hand, pushing you behind him for safety. “Go to the bedroom,” he told you firmly. 

You hesitated, about to draw a dagger of your own when the person on the other side of the door announced “Room service!” 

“Don’t kill the room service,” you told Loki as you stood on your toes to kiss his cheek before you did as you were bid and ducked into the bedroom where the room service person wouldn’t see you. Loki vanished the dagger and dealt with the man, though you could see his anger at being interrupted, and worse the hint of rage that this man had nearly seen you in lingerie. Silly Trickster would not have that problem had he not left you lingerie to wear...

The person delivering the room service appeared to be the manager from earlier. He wasn’t putting any of the rest of his staff in Loki’s way it seemed. He sensed Loki’s anger, but didn’t quite understand the reason until you opened the bedroom door an inch further. The movement caught the manager’s attention, but not Loki’s. When the manager saw what you were wearing, he seemed to understand why Loki was so upset. He left the meal as fast as possible, gave a quick instruction to leave the dishes outside of the suite and vanished as quickly as possible. Smart man.

You enjoyed a pleasant meal with Loki, who was calm again once the strange male wasn’t threatening you. The meal was fantastic and Loki was pleased to hear your moans of pleasure over it. “Happy hostages are much preferable than those trying to escape,” he commented, making you laugh. He really was enjoying this game too much.

*

You found out the next morning that this hotel was also a spa. You found this out the hard way when Loki insisted that you were being pampered all day. “How is this fun for you?” you asked grumpily as he half-led half-dragged you to your first appointment of the morning. 

“I get to see you properly taken care of and pampered as a princess should be,” he told you warmly and kissed the ring on your finger.

By the end of the day you had been styled from head to toe (you were going to kill Loki for the waxing and whatever they did to your eyebrows that had hurt like hell) and massaged and pampered so thoroughly that you were considering forgiving Loki for the waxing. Considering only. Your hair and makeup were done and the spa people helped you dress for the ball in a gorgeous floor-length gown and heels Loki had left for them. 

They delivered you back to Loki, who was waiting in the lobby of the spa wearing a perfectly tailored suit. He bowed elegantly over your hand to kiss your engagement ring. “You look wonderful, my lady,” he greeted you warmly while all of the spa people swooned and the other men who were waiting on wives/girlfriends were looking anxious at being shown up. 

“And you’re handsome as ever, my prince,” you replied, leaning up to kiss him lightly since he had stood from his bow. He preened. It wasn’t often you called him your prince while on Earth. On Asgard, it was a different story and a proper form of address when you were out among the people. 

He offered you an arm. “Shall we?” he asked. You placed your hand on his offered arm and let him lead you from the hotel. 

There was an honest to god horse-drawn carriage waiting for you outside. Loki had been overly extravagant as usual in his gesture for your official engagement. What was he going to do when you got married?

He helped you into the carriage and you cuddled up with him under the throw blanket thoroughly enjoying this wonderful trip through the city to the ball. 

After he had helped you down from the carriage, he brushed his thumb over the back of your hand, removing the glyph he had placed there. “I did promise to return you safely for the ball,” Loki said a little mournfully.

“I think even the mortals will know I’m claimed when they see the huge rock you put on my finger,” you reminded him as you placed your hand on his offered arm so he could escort you into Tony’s ball properly. He laughed and relaxed at that.

There were cheers and applause the second you entered the ball. “Let’s see the ring, Y/N!” Tony announced from the DJ podium. You raised your left hand above your head, laughing. “Congratulations to Loki for finally popping the question!” Tony teased. Loki made an overly elegant bow. 

You saw how pleased he was that this celebration was set up at least partially for him. He was touched that the group accepted him enough to celebrate with him. You spent the evening showing off the ring and dancing. There were cheers and toasts, and, of course, a gorgeous giant cake. Tony surprised you when the entire ballroom full of people danced one of the traditional Asgardian formal dances. 

Of course, For the Dancing and the Dreaming was played. You danced with Loki through it, singing along in Asgardian while you twirled and danced and sang, laughter and joy in both of your eyes and voices. The entire team danced through it too. At the very last word Loki twirled you one last time. When you were facing him again, he was on one knee in front of you and kissed the diamond ring on your hand. 

You pulled him back to his feet and kissed him deeply to cheers from the crowd.

The entire evening was perfect and such fun.


	56. Chapter 56

    “Loki, you made me promise to wake you and let you take me to class,” you reminded the stubbornly sleeping Asgardian. You kissed him again to wake him. “That means _you_ have to get up when I wake you,” you added with another kiss.

    “Sig, go back to sleep,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around you and tucking you more securely against his side.

    He was adorable mostly asleep, but... “Loki, I have to go to class,” you reminded him as you pushed out of his arms. “If you don’t want to take me, I’ll go by myself,” he growled softly and reached for you. You were without your powers and he was overprotective. You wanted to let him make you tea and tuck you safely back in bed, but you had to go to class.

    “Skip,” he grumbled, still without opening his eyes.

    “Can’t. I miss enough classes on legitimate missions. Fine, I’ll get Thor to take me,” you teased as you managed to scramble out of the bed before he could drag you back to cuddling. If he got you back to cuddling, you were going to miss your class. His arm snaked out and grabbed your wrist as he cracked an eye open.

    “You will do no such thing,” he snarled softly.

    You giggled and kissed his forehead. “Then get up, silly Trickster,” you told him and pried his hand off of your wrist so you could get dressed. Fwumpy old jeans, a shirt that was Loki’s, and a hoodie that was...also Loki’s and you were presentable and as comfortable as possible. You turned to Loki, who had managed to finally climb out of the bed and laughed when you saw what he was wearing. “Darling, I adore you in formal wear, but we’re going to a college campus. There’s no need to wear a full suit,” you teased, he had a wide mischievous grin on his face. He’d done it on purpose to make you smile. You stood on your toes to kiss him, thanking him for his effort.

    With a shimmer of green magic, he was wearing jeans and a nice green sweater. “Better?” he asked with a smirk.

    “Better for fitting in,” you conceded. You fwumped your head against his chest and made a soft, pained, noise.

    “Darling, why must you go to class today?” he asked softly as his arms wrapped around you.

    “I can’t skip my obligations. Plus I have a test,” you grumbled as you forced yourself to stand on your own again. “I’ll be fine,”

    He kissed the top of your head. “I dislike seeing you in pain,” he told you softly. A cup of tea appeared in your hands. You kissed his cheek.

    “I love you too,” you told him and sipped on your tea as you turned to leave your suite and face the day.

    “That is my job,” Loki growled at you when you reached for your school bag. You raised your free hand in surrender and stepped back from it.

    “You’re being extra overprotective and grumpy today,” you told him as you left your suite.

    “You are without your powers and I had nightmares about it,” he told you stiffly. He hated admitting when he had nightmares, but this one must have been important for him to say something, or have him this angsty.

    “Want to tell me about it?” you asked gently. Sometimes he would, sometimes he just wanted you to know that he was on edge.

    He shook his head and wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pressing his lips gently against the top of your head. “Just let me keep you safe. I couldn’t live with myself if anything were to happen to you, witchling,” he bid you softly.

    “That’s why you’re coming to class with me, love,” you reminded him softly. “I’m here and I’m safe,” you pulled a dagger from the sheath at your back. “Also armed,” you told him with a grin. He smirked when he saw the blade, you resheathed it quickly.

    “Very wise, darling,” he told you warmly.

    Nat handed you a sack of aluminum foil wrapped breakfast sandwiches when you entered the kitchen to find something to eat. “Eat one now,” she ordered you firmly as you reached into the sack to pull one out for Loki. Loki took the sandwich from you and carefully unwrapped it. He thanked Natasha for making breakfast.

    “How many did you make?” you asked, staring into the bag.

    “Enough to keep him fed until lunch,” she replied, gesturing to Loki with her pancake turner. “Now eat one,” she grumbled at you. The entire team knew how you were without your powers. You rolled your eyes and pulled one of the sandwiches from the bag to eat.

    “Natasha...” you started, wanting to protest that you didn’t need taken care of. You weren’t a little kid, or helpless, just because you were without your powers. And felt like hell.

    She gave you a warm, gentle, smile. “You heal and take care of us all month long. Let your family take care of you the few days you’re vulnerable,” she told you kindly. You gave her a tentative smile and nodded.

    “Thanks, Natasha,” you finally said and took your seat at the dining room table to enjoy your breakfast and tea. Loki ate three more of the sandwiches before you had to leave for class.

    “Are you driving us or teleporting?” you asked Loki as you looked at the time on your phone.

    “They won’t be concerned over teleporting?” he asked, a little confused. You usually didn’t go advertising your powers unless you were on missions.

    You laughed as you shook your head. “Nah, I end up teleporting to class half the time. They’re used to it.” Getting up in time for class was difficult after missions. Unfortunately, one of the classes you were required to take was an 8am.

    “Very well,” he replied as your teacup refilled itself. You had time to finish your tea and have a pleasant conversation with Loki while he cajoled you into eating another sandwich. You put the sack of sandwiches in your school bag for Loki to snack on through the morning.

    The emergency alarm went off on your phone. You shut it off and stood, mournfully leaving your teacup behind. Loki still looked anxious. “Love, we’ll be fine,” you reminded him and kissed him. “It was just a bad dream,” you added softly. He stood and wrapped his arms around you.

    “I still worry,” he told you equally softly. An instant later you were on the outskirts of campus. Loki offered you his arm, and you placed your hand on his arm and led him to your first class.

    *

    Your classes went fine. The professors didn’t mind the visitor and welcomed Loki if they even noticed him. He was interested in American college, though whined about the incorrect information and stupid incoherent explanations and proceeded to dive into how _he_ was taught the material. His explanations made a lot more sense.

    It was nice walking around campus with Loki. It almost seemed normal, walking to class with your fiance. You’d never be normal on Midgard, you weren’t even human, but it was nice to pretend.

    The breakfast sandwiches barely made it to lunch. Barely.

    You had lunch with Peter at one of the sandwich shops on campus. Loki still didn’t like Spiderman for flirting with you once, but he was pleasant enough, especially when Peter just talked about his classes and his crime fighting. Peter also didn’t question why you begged Loki for more tea and looked so pathetic today. “Sorry, Pete, little under the weather today,” you told him when he did get worried. Loki placed his cold hand against your forehead after Peter had left for his next class.

    “You need to rest, darling,” he told you softly, concerned, as he used the little healing power he had to relieve some of your discomfort.

    “I know. One more class and I’ll gladly let you tuck me back into bed,” you told him, nearly moaning in relief at his cold hand on your flushed skin.

    Everything was going fine until you were walking to your last class of the day. It was in the furthest building off campus, to torture you because you were a freshman. Loki stiffened as you were walking. “What’s wrong?” you asked, looking for the danger he sensed. Your hand reached automatically for the dagger at your back. He stepped in front of you, daggers in hand, armor shimmering into place as a group of people dressed in black surrounded you.

    “Come with us healer. We’ll leave Loki alone. We have a job for you,” one of the group told you, stepping forward and offering a hand. “After the job is done, you can return to the Avengers perfectly unharmed.” You gripped Loki’s cape, your other hand around the dagger hilt at your back. “You’re coming with us!”

    “Trust me, darling,” Loki told you softly enough that the group couldn’t hear.

    “Always,” you whispered back.

    “Let go,” he told you gently. You dropped his cape. “Forgive me,” he told you softly as the group in black moved forward, sensing that you weren’t just giving up and going with them. You were about to ask what for when you saw a circle of green forming under your feet.

    “Loki, no. I can help!” you protested.

    You yelped when the circle completed and you fell through. You shrieked as you fell helplessly for a moment before you landed on a soft chair. You were about to jump to your feet to figure out where you were and how to get back to and help him when a hand clamped firmly on your shoulder, holding you in the chair.

    “Apparently, your fiance wishes for me to keep an eye on you for a few minutes,” Doctor Strange said dryly as his grip on you tightened. He didn’t seem surprised that you were here, or in a desperate state to get back to Loki..

    “Send me back!” you told him firmly, trying again to get back to your feet.

    “I think not,” Strange replied dryly. “You were just in here yesterday healing my hands,” he reminded you. You huffed and stopped struggling. He knew that you were without your powers. You could fight him physically, but it would be dumb and you both knew it.

    “If he gets hurt, I’m going to kill him,” you growled. A cup of tea appeared on the desk in front of you.

    “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on over a cup of tea while we wait for him to arrive?” Strange asked.

    “Fine,” you grumbled, but picked up your tea. “Did Loki give you the recipe?” you asked him as he seemed to finally accept you weren’t going to just go running out of the sanctum stupidly. You recognized Loki’s healing tea the instant you took your first sip.

    He took his usual seat and nodded. He had a cup of tea too, but you were sure it was a different blend than yours. “Well, he left some of the tea here for you and I determined its composition, so that’s almost like he gave me the recipe,” he amended.

    “For Loki, that _is_ giving you the recipe,” you told him with a small smile. “This was always a contingency plan wasn’t it?” you asked. This was too well planned for them not to be in cahoots about it.

    Strange inclined his head. “Loki asked if he could send you here if he thought you were in danger when you’re without your powers. He trusted us to be able to keep you safe while he dealt with whatever the danger was, and there’s always someone here, unlike the tower,” he added before you could ask why he hadn’t sent you there. “So, what happened?”

    You explained briefly about the group in black and how they’d demanded your services as a healer. “They could have just asked,” you added softly. If someone needed healing, you had a high likelihood of agreeing.

    “Unless it was a villain or some other undesirable,” Strange said before you could. You nodded. The team, namely Jarvis, monitored the healing requests that came in and didn’t even let you see the ones from untrustworthy sources. You had issues turning down healing requests...

    Loki appeared in the room a moment later. Strange was on his feet as Loki materialized, gold magic surrounding his hands as he was in position to defend you. He relaxed when he realized it was Loki and nearly got shoved off his feet as you jumped up from the comfy chair to go glomp Loki. “Are you ok?” you demanded as you hugged Loki too tightly. You let him go to look for injuries. You smacked his arm hard when you were satisfied he wasn’t hurt. “Don’t you do that again!” you scolded him, glaring up at him.

    He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to him, holding you tightly. “They were after you, love. I know you can fight and defend yourself, but I am _not_ taking any chances with your safety when they are specifically after you,”

    “Ahem. So what happened to the people who were after Y/N?” Strange asked. Loki let you go enough that you could turn in his arms to see Strange while you spoke with him.

    “SHIELD has them in custody, worse for the wear, but alive. Fury promised they will be questioned most thoroughly as to why they wanted to take his healer, my beloved.” Strange nodded, accepting that answer. Loki kissed the top of your head, reassuring himself that you were safe. “Thank you for watching out for her while I was occupied,” he added politely to Strange, who inclined his head, but looked like he was beyond ready to get Loki out of his sanctum.

    “Can we go home now?” you asked Loki softly. Strange shot you a grateful glance. He could only handle Loki in small doses, especially when Loki was in a dangerous mood, which he was right now, or would be if he were separated from you. It was your job to keep him calm and happy.

    “Of course, witchling,” he told you warmly. You waved to Strange and an instant later you were back in your suite.

    “You’re not hurt?” you asked him again as you kissed him. Loki could be bribed to stay in a reasonable mood with kisses.

    “No, I’m not hurt. I swear, little healer,” he told you warmly.

    “Good,” you kissed him again, and he smiled.

    It wasn’t long before you were tucked back in bed with him cuddled up against him where he was sure you were safe. He kept kissing your forehead, the top of your head, even your nose, reassuring himself that you were here and safe.

    He threw a dagger at Thor when he came to check on you, having heard of the attack.

    *

    A week later an Fury had no new information. The group wouldn’t spill who they were working for. They just kept insisting that you were being contracted for a healing job. There were no more attacks while you were out, so the issue was set aside, for now. Especially when you had your powers back.

    You were at a charity event a couple weeks later, in a floor length green gown and heels. Loki was your escort as you mingled with the crowd. Most of the crowd were the orphans who the event was for. They were adorable in their little suits and dresses and they loved seeing all their favorite superheroes. When he thought no one was looking, Loki kept making little illusions to entertain the children. They flocked around him and you smiled at how adorable he was with the children.

    There were hundreds of kids who were all trying their hardest to be on their best behavior. They did really well when they managed to get Loki to read them a story. They all sat around the chair he was sitting in, watching in amazement as he read the story and used illusions to make it come to life for them. You watched from the sideline, enjoying your fiance and how good he was with the kids.

    You looked up when an arm draped over your shoulder. “Hey, Thor,” you smiled up at Thor in a suit jacket. He still couldn’t be convinced to wear a tie. “Enjoying the party?”

    “It is a stuffy event,” he whined. “But it is for a good cause, and I enjoy seeing Loki like that,” he gestured to Loki, who was obviously enjoying entertaining the children.

    You all looked up when little packages dropped out of the ceiling, fluttering down to waiting hands, like a party gift. The children jumped to their feet to grab one of the gifts from the sky. Most of the packages were falling toward the group of them and Loki.

    It seemed familiar.

    And wrong.

    Why was it wrong?

    Where had you seen this before?

    It reminded you of that scene in the Hunger Games, you realized a moment too late.

    The packages exploded. You ran forward, donning your armor as you ran for the children. The sight that awaited you was terrible beyond words. You fought your healer instincts long enough to rouse the dazed Loki. He had been caught up in the explosions.

    “We’ll guard, heal the children!” Thor roared. You nodded. The team circled around the destruction, spreading out to guard.

    You grabbed Loki’s hand and hauled him back to his feet. He looked horrified at the sight of the mangled children he had been reading to just moments before. You saw the tears and grief in his eyes. “Loki, focus, they’re alive. Help me heal them!” you ordered firmly, snapping him back to what he needed to do. You didn’t have the power to fix this yourself, not in the little time you had.

    Loki’s hand was in yours a moment later. “Take what you need,” he said as he opened his magic to you. You drained both of your power ruthlessly to heal the children. They were so mangled, so bloody, so damaged. You would gladly help Loki kill whoever had done this to the innocents. You reattached limbs, brought some back from the brink of death.

    A battle raged around you, but you ignored it, trusting the team to keep you safe while you healed the children.

    Whoever did this was a dead man walking.

    The healing was finally finished. Stark, Nat, Clint, and Bruce herded the children to safety, leaving you and Loki in the care of Thor.

    You were both nearly passed out with exhaustion, drained of power. Loki was only slightly better since you used _some_ restraint on his magic. But only some. “Get the healer!” you heard the call as you fought to keep your feet under you. You whirled toward the voice, daggers in hand. “Should have come with us when we asked,” another voice. You couldn’t focus. Shit. Loki was at your back, daggers in his hands too. You were in this together, just like always.

    Surely, everything would be alright.

    Until the spelled net came flying at you and Loki. You felt the magic in the ropes, felt the binding spells. Loki caught the glimpse of it and whirled, shoving you out of the way, so you stumbled toward Thor.

    You held out your hand as Thor’s arm wrapped around you. “LOKI!” you screamed as the net landed over him.

    “One of them will have to do. Let’s go!” one of the attackers yelled. You managed to get out of Thor’s grip, both of you rushing to help your Loki, but the next instant, he and all of the attackers were gone.

    It wasn’t Loki’s magic that made them vanish.

    But they were gone.

    “LOKI!” you screamed helplessly. He had sacrificed himself to save you from getting taken too.


	57. Chapter 57

    You stared in horror at the spot where Loki had been for an instant longer until your brain kicked back in and decided to function again. You closed your eyes, focusing on your senses and magic. You felt Loki’s location in an instant and were summoning power to teleport to him when a hand clamped firmly around your wrist.

    “Don’t,” Thor told you firmly when your eyes snapped open so you could glare at him. You drew a dagger and held it to his throat.

    “Unhand me,” you snarled at him.

    “You do not have enough power left to teleport us both, so I think not,” Thor told you firmly, his grip tightening on you. He knew damn well that you couldn’t teleport away from him while he kept a hand on you.

    “Let. Me. Go. We have to go save him!” you protested with tears in your eyes. It didn’t matter that you were swaying on your feet, it didn’t matter that your magic was next to tapped. The only thing that mattered was that some piece of walking carrion had stolen your Loki and you had to go save him.

    “We will,” Thor told you gently. “When we have recovered, when we have regrouped, we will go rescue him. We cannot hope to win when we are half-cocked and unprepared. You are in no shape to fight. This plot was designed to weaken you and Loki so they could sneak _you_ away. Whatever their plot, they want _you_ for it,”

    “He let them take him to save me,” you protested weakly.

    “He did,” Thor agreed, his voice was sad, hurt, but still had the gentle caring edge to it. “Loki knew what he was doing, sister dear. He is a warrior and we have been through centuries of battles together. He can and will weather whatever happens until we regroup. They will not kill him. They need him as bait for you,”

    “The Aesir can take a lot of pain before dying,” you protested again. You had to go _now_.

    Thor inclined his head. “We can,” he agreed. “Loki will survive and we will rescue him as soon as we have recovered enough to do so successfully. We all will. He will not want you to risk yourself going after him in this state,”

    “I can’t- Thor- we have to-” you couldn’t string the protests together. Why didn’t he understand that you had to rescue Loki now, before they could hurt him or worse? In one movement of Thor’s, your dagger was clattering to the ground and you were somehow over his shoulder. “Thor!” you protested, the tears in your voice now as well as your eyes.

    “I know. Rest, Lady Sigyn,” he told you.

    “Thor! Sig! Is she ok? Where’s Loki?” Cap demanded when Thor left the ballroom with you to meet up with the others who were still with the children.

    “Loki was taken. This attack was a plot to abduct Lady Sigyn. She is uninjured, just drained of power and distraught. Whoever did this knew exactly how to take her and Loki out of the fight,” Thor explained. He held you firmly over his shoulder while you protested weakly that you had to go save Loki now. You weren’t exactly thinking logically...

    “How is she even still here?” Nat demanded. “In this state she should have teleported to him by now,”

    “She is too low on power to teleport more than just herself, and she cannot teleport alone while someone else is touching her,” Thor explained.

    Clint sighed. “This is going to be a long night of babysit-the-healer, isn’t it?” he asked.

    “We could just drug her...” Tony suggested. You weren’t sure if he was joking or not, but you were officially too out of it to protest either way. The adrenaline of the battle was wearing off and your worry over Loki wasn’t enough to keep you conscious.

    “Thor, get her home. I’ll finish up things here. We’ll figure out how to keep her at home until we have a plan,” Cap ordered. You made a soft protest. Why didn’t they understand that you needed to go now?

    “Hush, little sister. You can’t even stand on your own. Rest so we can rescue Loki,” Thor told you. His grip tightened as he swung Mjolnir and soon you were in the air. You determined extremely quickly that thrown over Thor’s shoulder was officially your least favorite way of flying and most terrifying. You had even less control than when you could at least hold onto him. It was thankfully a short flight back to the tower.

    He didn’t set you down until you were in the living room. He laid you gently on your usual couch. “Rest, little sister. You need to recover so we can successfully rescue Loki,” Thor bid you. He didn’t need to try so hard. Your eyes had closed at some point and weren’t opening again.

    “Loki...” you murmured as sleep, or possibly unconsciousness claimed you.

    You woke multiple times throughout the night, worry, fear, and nightmares breaking through sleep. Someone on the team was always sitting with you when you woke. They told you to go back to sleep, that everything was ok. Tony threatened to shove sleeping pills down your throat if you annoyed him or if he had to touch you to keep you from teleporting away.

    You dreamt of your Loki in chains, bleeding, and bruised. He was roaring in anger, pain, fighting against his bonds, his magic flaring even past the bindings they placed on him. They thought they could contain him. And they could, for awhile. But his rage and power would win out eventually.

    You needed to rescue him before the pain broke your Loki.

    He was finally healing the soul wounds of Odin’s treatment of him. He was finally healing from New York. He was finally opening up and _happy_.

    You couldn’t let whoever this asshole was break your Loki.

    You couldn’t.

    You shot awake, jumping to your feet. Nat’s hand remained clamped around your wrist. “I’m not running,” you told her firmly. She let you go with a nod. The team was gathered around the livingroom, still in uniform, making plans. You saw pillows and blankets all over. They had gotten napes in, it seemed. “What have you got so far?” you asked Cap.

    “We can’t get a lock on his location,” he started warily.

    “I can,” you replied firmly, you already had a plan on how. Cap nodded.

    “It looks like they attacked the children with Hydra weapons,” Cap continued.

    “We’re expecting to face a large force,” Clint told you, warningly. You glared at him. You didn’t care how many people you were facing.

    “I will kill every single one of them if that’s what it takes to get him back,” you told them firmly. “I can’t teleport you all. Get ready, this rescue mission leaves as soon we’re all armed. Thor, kindly never tell your brother what I’m about to do in that kitchen,” you added as you stomped into said kitchen and began rummaging through the drawers and cabinets.

    “Sig...” Thor was on his feet following you a moment later. In fact, the entire team had swarmed to see what nonsense you were pulling. “What _are_ you doing?”

    “Something incredibly stupid. But desperate times and all that...” you found what you were looking for and apologized to the poor coffee maker for what you were about to put it through.

    “Is she...making coffee with an energy drink instead of water?” Tony demanded, impressed.

    “I am,” you replied grumpily, reaching for Tony’s caffeine pills to crush up in the bottom of the carafe.

    “Hey! Those are mine!” he protested. You glared at him.

    “I’ll buy you new ones,” you growled. He held up his hands in surrender.

    “Why are you suddenly resembling Tony on a project?” Bruce asked gently. He was Bruce and the only one you wouldn’t snap at. “Only _I’ve_ seen him drink that stuff. The results were not pleasant and Pepper has banned him from ever making it again,”

    “It’s a shortcut that we are _never_ telling Loki I took, because he will kill us all for it. It’s an artificial power boost. They’re torturing him and I will do everything and anything in my power to get him back before they break him.” You weren’t telling them that the artificial power boost came at a price, as did everything when it came to magic. You set another pot to start as soon as the first one had finished. “Get ready, guys, we leave the second I have finished drinking this pot of coffee,” you told them as you held up the carafe. Thor turned automatically and summoned Mjolnir. The rest of the team looked incredulous, but you blew ice on the carafe to cool it, a trick Loki had taught you. You lifted the carafe like a mug of ale and started downing it in a manner that they had _only_ seen Thor do with the aforementioned mug of ale. The rest of the team scattered to get ready, finally figuring out that you _really_ weren’t joking. You shuddered and were sure your heart had skipped at least two beats when you set the carafe down. “Blargh, that stuff tastes awful,” you complained and shuddered again at _that_ much caffeine hitting your system at one time.

    Rule #1: Do not make monster-coffee.

    Rule #2 If you break rule number one, do _not_ drink the entire pot in one gulp.

    Rule #3 Do _not_ piss off the healer enough to make her break the first two rules.

    Your heart skipped another beat, but you felt the power flare. You smirked as you dumped the second pot into a thermos and vanished it. You would need it later. You dug your phone out of your pocket as you stormed to the elevator. “Strange, incoming. The entire team is coming. We need a portal and a locator spell, I have the focus for the locator spell. We’ll be there in five minutes tops. I’ll explain when we get there,” you told Strange without greeting the second he answered the phone and hung up before he replied.

    The rest of the team met you at the SUV in the garage a minute later, armed to the teeth. “Where are we going?” Cap asked as Nat climbed in the driver’s seat.

    “Doctor Strange’s sanctum,” you answered. Nat peeled off. She didn’t bother asking for the address. She knew everything.

    “Do you have a plan for when we get there?” Tony asked hesitantly. He didn’t trust your mood. None of them did. You didn’t care. Thor seemed to understand your mood at least.

    “We’re portalling directly to Loki. I’m sure he’s guarded, which is where you come in. I’ll rescue Loki. He’s in a right state and I’m the only one he won’t kill first and ask questions later. Thor, don’t give me that look, you know he’ll stab you. We get out of there as soon as we have Loki. We don’t know how many of them there are or if we can take them all. They have to know we’re coming, especially as I haven’t shown up alone yet,” you told them as Nat drove. No one commented on how your plan wasn’t so much a plan as 12% of a plan. They also weren’t arguing. They all knew you would go without them if they did.

    “We will rescue him,” Thor promised.

    “I know we will,” you told him with a malicious glint in your eyes.

    “Don’t piss off the healer,” you heard Clint murmur so softly you knew that you weren’t supposed to hear. It was excellent advice nonetheless.

    “Do not make an Asgardian Lady fight for what she loves. Our Ladies are cherished. We protect them and they are generally not warriors, not because they are weak, but because they are more vicious in their rage,” Thor explained with...pride? in his tone. He raised your hand to kiss the back of it. “We will rescue him,” Thor reassured you again.

    Nat parked in front of the sanctum and you all piled out. You led the way inside without bothering to knock. Strange was waiting for you. “What’s going on?” he asked, getting straight to business.

    “Loki has been abducted. We’re going to rescue him,” you told Strange simply. He nodded.

    “You said you have a focus. You know you can’t use Thor’s hair, right?” he asked. Thor stiffened at the implication that you were going to harm his hair, but steeled himself.

    “You may-” he started.

    “It wouldn’t work,” Strange cut him off before he could make the offer. “It only works with something of _his_ or that of someone biologically related,” Strange explained quickly, looking for you for the focus you promised.

    You nodded, already reaching up to undo the lovelock braid in your hair. “I know,” you told him. Your fingers moved quickly and you undid the braid. You hated giving it up, since Loki had given it to you, but it was the only way to get to him right now. He would forgive you for losing his token. You held out the lock of Loki’s hair to Strange. “This will work,”

    “It’s-?”

    “Loki’s,” you confirmed.

    Strange took the lock of hair from you. “Yes, this will work.” His hands started flying with gold magic flowing between them. You drew a dagger as he worked. The rest of the team armed up around you. “Ready?” Strange asked.

    “Yes. Keep the portal open,” you confirmed. He nodded. He would keep your escape route open, though that meant he couldn’t join you for the fight.

    An instant later the portal opened in front of you. You, Thor, and Cap ran through with the others following directly behind. Thor and Cap took point with you a step behind, just in case this was an ambush.

    There was a flurry of movement in the large warehouse-like room. You ignored it. Your eyes were on the solitary figure, chained kneeling in the middle of the room.

    Loki.

    Your poor Loki.

    He was blindfolded and chained so securely he could scarcely move.

    That wasn’t the worst thing.

    He was raging and fighting his bonds.

    That wasn’t the worst thing.

    His power flared around him as he fought the spelled bonds.

    That wasn’t the worst thing

    He was beaten, bloody, and bruised.

    Even that wasn’t the worst thing.

    No, the worst thing brought tears of rage and grief to your eyes. Your anger and power flared as disbelief settled into pure, undiluted rage. They hadn’t just taken your Loki. They hadn’t just bound him. They hadn’t just hurt your love.

    They had tortured him

    They had sewn Loki’s mouth shut


	58. Chapter 58

    You strode too calmly, too fluidly, too much a graceful dangerous predator, to where Loki was chained in the middle of the room. You were the eye of the storm as chaos, rage, and power swirled around you. Attacks came at you, the bullets, powers, people couldn’t get to you, they couldn’t get through the storm around you.

    You touched Loki’s hair when you reached him. He growled and struggled, too pained to recognize your touch. “Shh, love. I’m here. You’re safe now,” you told him softly as you removed his blindfold. You stroked his hair, using a touch of power to ease his pain. You would free him when you’d dealt with the walking carrion who had harmed him. He was safe and not being injured more while you were here. He looked up at you with such hurt and fear in his eyes. You bent down and kissed his forehead. “I’m here. No more pain,” you promised, then turned and glared maliciously at those who had _dared_ to harm a hair on your Loki’s head. “For you,” you corrected.

    Loki tried to shout something. It was probably ‘no’, but he couldn’t. He would know what was coming too. It wasn’t just Thor who knew the perils of angering the healer.

    “Shit. She’s going off plan,”

    Even the team was thrown by the depth of your grief and rage. Nat and Thor seemed to be the only ones who understood, though Bruce seemed to understand the anger at least. Thor braced himself against the spirals of your rage and powers, to kept from being swept away.

    Power swirled, the maelstrom of your rage and grief spiraled faster around you as it spread, enveloping the entire building. Your rage touched every single person in that place, every single one who had been in on this plan.

    You dove into your power.

    The people who hurt your Loki

    Who tortured your love

    Were

    Going

    To

    Pay

    So you dove to the very last drop of your power, faster and faster, deeper and deeper, spiraling down to the very core of your power, you gathered it all, gathered everything you had and exploded out from the center of your power, hitting every single person there who had a hand in harming your love. Your natural ability was healing. You were a healer to the core. Even in your anger, your rage, your grief, your power went to healing first.

    Do

    Not

    Anger

    The

    Healer

    A healer, a true and proper healer like you, could and did knit wounds back together in an instant, could reassemble people on a molecular level, could do the impossible and stitch any and every inch of the human body together when it was injured.

    While a healer could do all of those miracles, they were far more deadly for their ability to do the exact opposite. You could rip the human body apart, could destroy with the same abilities which let you heal, could pull a body apart until nothing was left.

    That is exactly what your power did now.

    Every person who had a hand in this plot, who had tortured your Loki, who had added to your rage and grief for the pain administered to your love was ripped to particles so small that the air was thick with the red mist that was all that was left of your victims.

    It wasn’t an easy death either, for all that it was fast.

     _Pop_

    They exploded one by one as your power touched them.

     _Pop pop_

    They screamed as they realized what was coming

     _Pop pop_

    As they realized there was nothing they could do to stop it

     _Pop pop pop_

    They all died for their crimes

     _Pop pop pop pop_

    They died for the pain they had inflicted on your love

     _Pop pop pop pop_

    They were _all_ destroyed

    Except one

    The one in the office. The one who had let his people fight you while he hid. The one in charge. He got to live. He got to live just long enough to be questioned. Just long enough to find out why your Loki had been tortured. Why you had been targeted. What they had wanted with you.

    Thirty seconds

    Thirty seconds was all it had taken to destroy 100 people? More? Less? You didn’t know. You didn’t care. You didn’t care about the red mist. About the horror on the team’s faces. About the knowledge that they were finally understanding. They _finally_ understood Thor’s warning about the Ladies of Asgard, about angering the healer. They finally understood what you could do when you were backed into a corner.

    You saw the resolve on all of their faces never to let it happen again.

    Thor just offered you a nod and a small bow. He knew. He had known all along. You nodded at him in return.

    “There’s two mutant kids in cells through that door,” you pointed toward the back of the warehouse. “Also a man with a metal arm. More victims of these people. There’s an office at the top of the steps. You’ll find someone to question up there,” you added. That was all the helpful you were willing to be. You had other more pressing matters to attend to.

    The team rushed to go deal with the people you mentioned, the survivors of your rage.

    You summoned the thermos of monster-coffee you had poured earlier. You downed its contents in a moment and shuddered as you dropped the thermos to the floor. You needed the power spike to help Loki. The power flared, artificial though it was, and you would pay for it later. But for now you had the power and strength to do what was needed.

    You turned to him then. “It’s alright now, love. I’m here. You’re safe,” you told him gently, stroking his hair reassuringly. “I’m getting you out of here. Just hold on a little longer.” It took effort to summon the exact blade you needed. It wasn’t one you summoned often, or had you ever? you couldn’t remember. It wasn’t important. The blade came to your hand now. Loki stiffened, but recognized the blade and held still. You carefully cut through the heavy metal collar around his neck, the manacles on his wrists, every single bond. It was slow work. You had to be so careful to cut the metal and not him, but finally, finally you made it through them all. You vanished the blade again as he collapsed against you. You caught him and held one of his arms across your shoulders, standing and bringing him up with you, supporting his weight. “I’ve got you. It’s ok,” you told him softly, gently.

    The others were coming back with the two teens with powers, the man with the metal arm, and a very beaten up, bound man in a suit.

    “Let’s get you home, love. I’ll fix you up there,” you told Loki. You couldn’t here. It would take too long. He was too injured. You wanted him home safely. You needed him home safely.

    “Lady Sigyn,” Thor drew your attention with his formal words. “Allow me to take him. I will not allow harm to come to my brother.” You hesitated, but it was Thor. Thor wouldn’t let anything happen to Loki, but still you hesitated. “Lady, let me help you,” Thor implored. You finally nodded once. Thor dropped Mjolnir to lift Loki carefully into his arms. He was so gentle, so worried. Loki was so very injured, bruised, and bleeding. You placed a hand on Loki’s bare arm, using magic to ease his pain. You knew him. You knew he hated looking and being weak like this. Knew he hated that Thor was carrying him. He hated all of this, except that you had been saved from the same torment or worse. You still didn’t know why they had wanted you exactly.

    “It’s alright, love. Everything’s ok now,” you promised him. “I know better than to lie to you,” you added softly, a small humor that did nothing. All you could do was try to ease his spirits and pain until you could heal him properly.

    “Is no one going to talk about what she did?” Stark asked. He had the bound man thrown over his shoulder.

    “I wouldn’t,” Nat replied stiffly. “You wouldn’t understand.” She did. She had lived in that anger and grief before. You saw it in her eyes.

    You knelt and picked up Mjolnir and Stark and the others gasped. They hadn’t expected you to still be able to.

    Even after destroying all of those people, you were still worthy.

    You all walked back through the portal to the sanctum. You saw Strange’s expression at Loki’s state, at the additions. Cap was already working to get SHIELD to clean up your mess. You didn’t care.

    You touched Thor’s arm. “Hold on. I’m going to teleport us,” you warned him. He didn’t care for teleporting, but he wanted Loki home as much as you did. He nodded and an instant later you were in your and Loki’s suite in the tower. “Set him on the bed,” you told him and propped up the pillows after summoning a sheet to lay down so blood wouldn’t get on the bed. He wouldn’t want to be moved once he was healed and the sheet could be vanished easier than remaking the entire bed. Thor set Loki down gently. You both winced at the pained noise Loki made. You climbed up on the bed.

    “Sig, are you up to this? You have used quite a lot of power already...” Thor’s voice was concerned. You had used way too much power already. You both knew it.

    “I’ll get through this,” you told him firmly. “Thanks for your help, but I’ve got it from here, and Loki is about five seconds away from summoning a dagger to stab you with for seeing him like this,” you warned him. Thor saw Loki’s expression and nodded reluctantly.

    “I will wait in your sitting room. Call if you need assistance,” he finally told you. He didn’t want to leave Loki like this, but knew he would be safe in your care, and more comfortable with fewer witnesses.

    Your hands started glowing blue as you wrapped your Loki in your arms, holding him as he whimpered and began the healing, carefully, gently. You eased the pain, fixed all the cuts, bruises, the marks on his back, the...how the fuck did they break bones?

    You growled that you hadn’t killed them enough for what they had done to your Loki.

    You fixed everything except his poor mouth. You saved that for last. It was the hardest to fix, and you would have to make it worse first, before you could make it better. “I’m sorry, love, I’m sorry. I’m going to fix it this, going to fix what they did to you, I swear,” there were tears in your eyes. “It’s going to hurt,” your fingers ran through his hair he whimpered again and you could feel him fight back the tears. “I know, my love, I know. Just a little longer. Be strong a little longer for me. I’ll fix it. Trust me, trust me, Loki, please trust me,”

    He nodded once and sat up, though you saw the effort it took him. You summoned a pair of tiny, but sharp scissors and a small cloth. You steeled yourself and ever so carefully cut away the stitches binding his lips shut. The wounds bled anew as you worked and he made a soft noise in pain, but fought not to move. You soothed his pain with what power you could spare. You had to be careful. You were running purely on the caffeine you had thrown into your body and you had to save enough power to heal his lips so they wouldn’t scar. He let you work, closed his eyes, trusting you. It took forever, you had to be so careful, but you finally, finally got the string cut away and cleared from his lips. You healed those last wounds and carefully wiped away the blood. It took too long too, you were running dangerously low on power, but you got the wounds healed, no scars left behind.

    You sighed in relief when it was done.

    The physical wounds were healed, but his emotional scars would take longer. He looked so lost and hurt and...scared. You settled against the pillows and pulled him into your arms. He didn’t resist as you pulled his head to your chest, stroking his hair. “Rest now, love. You’re safe now,” his arms wrapped around you as he curled himself around you, more like a small scared boy than your Loki. You kissed his forehead. “I’ve got you. You’re safe,” you repeated. You stroked his hair and rubbed his back until he finally, finally fell asleep in your arms.

    You gave him a small smile and kissed his forehead again.

    “Thor?” you asked softly, figuring he was eavesdropping. Loki didn’t stir besides making a small noise and curling himself more comfortably around you. Thor was in the room in a moment.

    “He’s healed?”

    You nodded. “Physically. Emotionally? Mentally? That might take longer. But that’s not what I needed,” you had to talk fast to beat the side effects of your artificial power boost.

    “What do you need besides that you obviously need to rest? You have pushed yourself far too hard today.” What he meant was that you looked like hell. You knew it. You had pushed yourself and your abilities _way_ too far.

    “Tell Loki about my stunt with the coffee,” you told him sleepily. Your voice was starting to slur in exhaustion. “He’s healed and safe, but he’ll worry,”

    “There is a side effect to all magic,” Thor said astutely. He knew more about magic than he liked to let on. He knew there was a reason that you hadn’t wanted Loki to know about how you’d boosted your powers. He hadn’t said anything at the time, and you saw now that he didn’t regret that decision. Loki would have been in far worse shape had you waited any longer.

    You nodded. “I need to sleep it off.” Did you even say all the words of that sentence? You couldn’t be sure. Hopefully you said enough of them that Thor understood. “Might not wake...” you were slipping too fast.

    Thor nodded and pulled the blanket up around you and Loki. “I will tell him. Both of you need rest. I will stand guard. Don’t fear, little sister. Rest now, you have done beyond a warrior’s work today,”

    You wouldn’t close your eyes until Loki was securely in your arms, until you’d kissed his forehead one last time.

    Until you’d reassured yourself that he was back and he was safe.


	59. Chapter 59

    You groaned when you finally woke again. Your head was on fire, your mouth was dry, and you had a swimming feeling in your stomach that made it seem like throwing up was going to be inevitable. You made the mistake of cracking open your eyes and instantly regretted it. You shut them quickly, clutching your head and making the most pitiful pained noise as the morning light fried your eyes and drove the migraine in your skull up about ten pain points.

    In short. You were very hungover.

    Though you’d had no alcohol.

    “Back among the living, I see, witchling,” came Loki’s voice from nearby. You whimpered, curled yourself in a tighter ball, then remembered, remembered what you had done and what Loki had been through.

    You made the next mistake of jolting upright, forcing your eyes open so you could check on Loki. He’d been through so much. You whimpered at the movement, fought back the wave of nausea and dizziness and tried to focus on Loki. Tried. Really tried. Your eyes wouldn’t focus.

    There was movement on the bed as Loki joined you. His hands steadied you and propped you up against the pillows. “I _should_ leave you like this to teach you a lesson,” he told you. He wasn’t happy with you, but his tone was light, this at least was a joke.

    “I’d do it again if it meant saving you from that hell,” you croaked through dry lips and a fuzzy mouth. “Fuck, I’d do it a thousand times to keep you from going through that,”

    “Healers...” he sighed. “You are incorrigible, my darling. I still _should_ leave you like this so _maybe_ you’d learn to never overdose on magic like that again, but we need to discuss what happened over the last few days, so you need to be coherent for that. Now, hold still. I have enough healing gift for this.” His cold fingers were on your temples and instantly the pain began to ease.

    “Thanks,” you murmured when you were feeling human again. It wasn’t feeling Asgardian again, but you’d take human over whimpering ball of misery. You raised your hand automatically to summon a glass of water.

    Loki grabbed your hand. You saw then the emotions he was fighting. He wasn’t happy to say the least. “Stop that. You have used _quite_ enough power, witchling,” he told you firmly. He handed you a cup of hot tea and you gave him a small smile. He didn’t return it.

    You took a sip of the tea. “How pissed off are you?” you asked him softly.

    “That is going to depend on the story you have to tell me, witchling,” at least he wasn’t pissed off enough yet to drop the terms of endearment. That was about the time he got dangerous.

    “Thor didn’t tell you?” you asked instead of starting the story. Damn Thunderer was supposed to tell him so he wouldn’t worry.

    “He told me you did something stupid you did not wish for me to know about, that you said you would be fine, and that I should not worry. Since then, they have all been busy with the strays you told them to bring back,” Loki growled and his teacup exploded in his hands.

    “Loki!” you dropped your teacup and it floated in the air next to you. You took Loki’s hands to make sure he wasn’t injured as the broken teacup and mess disappeared. You reached a hand up to cup his cheek, brushed your thumb over his lips, before you leaned up and kissed him. You had to check your handiwork, had to make sure he was really safe. You wrapped your arms around him. “I was so worried about you,” you told him.

    He held you too tightly for a moment. “I was terrified for you when you arrived at that place,” he admitted. “I never wanted you to come after me,”

    You scoffed. “You should have known better,” you told him. He inclined his head with a small smile.

    “I should have,” he agreed softly. “I never wanted you to have to use your powers like that,” he told you sadly.

    “I never wanted to either, but they hurt what’s mine,” you snarled softly. Loki kissed the top of your head.

    “I love you too, witchling. Now tell me what happened.” His voice had gentled. He understood your motives, though he wasn’t pleased. He also still couldn’t quite believe you cared enough about him to do that.

    You curled yourself more comfortably in his arms and your teacup floated back over to you. You began the story from the moment Loki was taken. “You drank what?!” he demanded when you got to the part about the coffee.

    “And that’s why I told Thor not to tell you about that,” you said softly, looking at you cup of tea. “I needed the power boost,” you added softly. He sighed and couldn’t argue that point. He knew how drained you’d both been after healing the children and how little you would have recovered by the next morning.

    “And _that_ my darling witchling is why you overdosed on magic and why you were so very, very hungover,”

    “I realize that,” you told him grumpily. “I’m very aware why you told me not to boost my powers like that.” You’d known and done it anyway. You had been kinda desperate. He didn’t protest anymore so you continued the story. “I’m sorry I lost your lovelock,” you told him when you’d explained how you’d given it to Strange so you could find him.

    He kissed the top of your head. “I’ll give you a new one,” he told you softly. He sounded impressed that you’d used it to find him.

    Then you had to tell him about the rage and pain of seeing him in that place, of how he’d been bound and chained. About how they’d sewn his mouth shut. They had tortured your Loki and they’d had to pay.

    Loki pulled you more tightly into his arms, holding you safely, and kissing the top of your head. “You should never have come there. Thor should have known to stop you. They were after you, my love,” his words were harsh with emotion, with the pain and horror you had seen in his eyes when you had removed the blindfold on him in that place. “I stopped them from taking you... and you still went there anyway,”

    “I had to get you back. They were _torturing_ you. They. Those fucking pieces of shit _sewed your mouth shut_ ,” you reminded him, wrapping your arms around his waist to hold him too tightly too.

    His voice was haunted when he answered. “They...they said they had to silence my silver tongue before I recovered enough to use it against them. Before they got ahold of you. They thought when you showed up that I would talk you out of doing whatever it was they wanted you to,”

    “I would have done anything to save you.” And you had. You had exploded every single person in that place. That knowledge was finally sinking in. You’d never killed before, and you had thoroughly destroyed all of those people.

    “No,” Loki told you firmly when he sensed your change in thoughts. “Don’t you do that to yourself.” He felt your emotions and could hear thoughts when you were projecting too loudly. He tilted your head up and kissed you. “Sometimes killing is a necessary evil. I never wished for you to have to use your powers like that. I know you’re a healer to your core and I love you dearly for it, no matter how exasperating it can be. I know you, my darling, I know that you would _never_ do anything like that except in the most dire of circumstances. The circumstances the other day were _very_ dire indeed,” that was an understatement. They had tortured your Loki. “You’re not a monster, love. Don’t even think for an instant that you are,”

    “I love you,” you told him and laid your head on his chest while he ran his fingers through your hair. You weren’t convinced you were going to get over killing all of those people so easily, but you knew it hadn’t been the wrong decision. It wasn’t the best decision, you knew the legal system was there for a reason...

    “Never anger a Lady of Asgard and _never_ enrage a healer,” Loki said softly, more like he was voicing a memory than anything.

    “You knew?” you asked him just as softly. He kissed your forehead.

    “Of course,”

    “You should have told me,”

    “I never wished for you to have to use that aspect of your abilities. But I saw it once before. There was only one occasion when Thor and I had reason to witness the depth of a healer’s rage,” he kissed you lightly. “I can’t tell you how much it means that you love me that much. Only that level of love can illicit _that_ response from a healer,”

    “You said you saw it before?” you asked, curious.

    He shuddered. “Once. Thor and I were seven or eight at the time. We went out on a picnic with Mother outside the palace. This was before Thor had Mjolnir, before I knew more than very basic magic. We hadn’t taken any guards with us. It was supposed to be close enough to the palace to be safe, just a mother having a picnic lunch with her sons. We were attacked by bandits. They were going to take us hostage to ransom the queen and the princes for gold. Even at that young age, Thor and I weren’t going to stand by and let Mother be hurt. I summoned a blade even then and Thor had his practice sword. We were horribly outmatched, even with Mother. Until she saw that I was injured, bleeding. Until she saw the full extent of the danger. Until my pain and our fear ignited that same healer’s instinct to protect the ones she loved. She grabbed us both, held us in her arms, and shielded us from the red rain as the men around us...popped and screamed and died. I don’t know how Father knew...” you knew he was lost to the memories and the story if he was actually calling Odin ‘father’ again. “He was there a minute later with a full squad of the army. They looked horrified, until Father reminded them that it is unwise to anger a Lady of Asgard, and more unwise still to injure the loved ones of a healer. He kissed her, told her he loved her, and how brave she was to defend her family. She was distraught, but she calmed when she realized we were all safe,” he told you.

    “Frigga-?” you would never suspect the mild, gentle, caring Queen of such violence.

    “Yes, darling. My Lady Mother. If Asgard’s queen can take such an action to defend the princes without being a monster, then so can her princess,” he told you warmly.

    “You’re really ok?” you asked him. He smiled softly and kissed you again.

    “Very much so, darling. Thanks to you. However, I would very much like to go find something to eat and you’ve been unconscious for over a day, so I can’t imagine that you aren’t starving too,” he told you warmly as both of your stomachs began to growl more insistently. You burst into laughter and finally, finally things seemed like they would be ok.

    *

    You insisted on getting a shower before you went downstairs. You were still covered in the remnants of the red mist from the warehouse. Loki joined you. You didn’t mind as you still weren’t steady enough to want him out of your sight. You had a feeling he was experiencing similar emotions.

    Clean and freshly dressed you made your way downstairs, Loki’s hand tightly held in yours. “Darling, relax. We’re safe in the tower,” he reminded you. “We’re safe,” he said again when you gave him a look.

    “They hurt you,” you protested. “You’re a god...” why didn’t he understand?

    “That was a _very_ extenuating circumstance, witchling. We were both drained to the point of passing out from healing all of those children. It was a clever trap. They knew they’d have to incapacitate me to get to you. It is not something that will happen again. The team is already making plans. Cap is very boring about it,” he rolled his eyes and you laughed. You knew Cap’s lectures well. They were _very_ boring.

    “Hey, we were wondering when you two would show your faces,” Nat greeted you when you made it to the kitchen. “Thor said you were sleeping off that shit you drank to save Loki,” she added.

    “Yeah. He’s still mad at me for drinking that shit,” you told her with a smile. “Any food around here?”

    “Stark ordered about a thousand pizzas. If you don’t want to cook that’s what we all had for breakfast,” Nat gestured to the fridge. “Cap wants to see you down on the detention floor when you’ve eaten,”

    “Pizza ok with you?” you asked Loki, who just shrugged. So you dug pizzas out of the fridge. “What does Cap need me for?”

    “We’re having trouble with the man we rescued,” she looked haunted for a moment before she continued. “I recognize him from before. We met five or so years ago. He goes by The Winter Soldier. We haven’t been able to get him calm enough to remove his mask or eat anything or do anything besides try to kill anyone who enters his cell. Cap thinks you might be able to help,”

    You nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. What about the kids?”

    “They’re upstairs in guest rooms the floor below yours. Don’t know if they’re staying yet or not, but they seem to be doing ok now that they’re out of that hell. Oh, the man you left alive is currently being ‘questioned’ by SHIELD. Don’t worry, he’s not enjoying it. At all. I’m sure Coulson will have intelligence for us soon,”

    “Darling, shouldn’t you heat that up?” Loki asked as you pulled a slice of pizza from the box to shove directly into your face.

    “Wha? Cold pizza tastes just fine,” you told him as you swallowed said mouthful of cold pizza.

    He just sighed. “Sometimes I forget that you grew up on Midgard and not a civilized place like Asgard,” he said mournfully. You rolled your eyes and proceeded to shove yet another slice of pizza into your face. Asgardians could eat. Starving Asgardians were a danger upon anything edible in their vicinity. You were beyond starving. You’d pushed yourself and your abilities way too hard to rescue Loki. You handed a box of pizza to Loki.

    “You’re welcome to heat yours up. I don’t feel like waiting that long when pizza tastes just fine cold.” With a wave of his hand the pizza was piping hot. “Cheater,” you told him and stole a slice from his box. He sighed heavily and waved a hand over your box of pizza too, looking put-upon. Nat didn’t comment as you each devoured an entire extra large pizza. “You coming with me to meet this winter soldier?” you asked Loki.

    “Of course,” he replied as if that were obvious.

    “You don’t have to protect me, love,” you didn’t want him in potential danger either.

    He raised your left hand to his lips to kiss your engagement ring. “Together,” was all he had to say.


	60. Chapter 60

You made your way down to the detention cells with Loki at your side. Cap, Thor, and Tony were waiting outside the winter soldier’s cell. You could feel the mystery man’s pain and grief and confusion the second you got off of the elevator. Loki stiffened beside you. He could feel it too. It nearly broke your heart, your healer’s soul to feel this man so distressed. 

You ran for the man’s cell, intent on the healing, on helping this poor man. Loki sighed and grabbed you around the waist, hauling you off your feet before you could make it more than a few steps. “Witchling, think, my love,” he told you gently as he held you firmly to him. “This isn’t a normal healing. This isn’t one of the team expecting the healing. This man is dangerous, and not expecting you to be a healer. He’ll hurt you if you just go running in there. None of us are going to let you put yourself in that much danger,” he reminded you gently. You sighed heavily and nodded. Loki set you gently back on your feet when he was convinced that you were going to be at least relatively reasonable. 

You stepped calmly over toward the man’s cell. “Stay back, guys. You’re going to scare him,” you told the guys firmly. They all spluttered a protest. “I know you don’t want me alone with him, but we won’t make any progress otherwise. I can take care of myself, and Loki can teleport in there in an instant if things go wrong. He won’t expect a little healer like me to be a threat,” 

It took prodding, but they finally agreed to let you go in to the man’s cell alone. So you stepped in with a healer’s open friendly expression. The man snarled and glared and rushed you. “I’m not going to hurt you,” you told him gently, calmly, throwing out calming waves of magic. He stopped in his tracks and just stared at you. You felt his emotions, felt the turmoil and pain. 

Then felt something worse: orders.

He lunged for you again and his metal hand wrapped around your throat, holding you off your feet, pinned against the wall. Your hands wrapped around his wrist, trying to remove his hand from your throat. “You’re coming with me,” he snarled at you.

Loki was there, ripping the man off of you and threw him into the other wall. You coughed and tried to regain your air. “He’s being controlled,” you told Loki between coughs. 

Loki had him pinned against the wall and snarled. “I’m aware of that. Do something about it or get out of here,” he growled at you, struggling to keep the man pinned. You searched for something, anything to help this poor man.

You finally found it. He threw Loki off of him, through the glass of the cell into the main room and stomped over to you, reaching to pick you up by the throat again. “Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming!” you shouted. 

He stopped in midstride again. His eyes glazed. “Ready to comply,” he told you. You sighed in relief and apologized, promising to never do that to him again. 

“Since when does she speak Russian?” Tony asked Nat who had come down at some point to join you. 

“It’s the power of Allspeak,” Thor explained. 

Loki was making his way back to his feet, growling about getting thrown through a cell wall. You led the mystery man into the main room and up on the interrogation table. He was calm as a kitten. “Do you have a name?” you asked the man. He didn’t answer. This was going to be a long healing if he couldn’t even give you a name. “Ok, just take the mask off,” he reached up and obeyed automatically. You heard Cap’s gasp of horror when the man’s face was revealed. “You know him?”

Cap nodded dumbly. “Bucky?! Bucky no, what’d they do to you?” Cap asked, horrified, actual tears in his eyes, while you used your power to gather the extent of the damage.

“Who the hell is Bucky?” the man demanded, glaring at Cap, who was lost to his grief at what they had done to this man.

“Love, I’ll need your help,” you told Loki. He was at your side in an instant, though still grumpy at being thrown. It only took a little power to heal his physical injuries. “You’re a stronger telepath than I am,” you told Loki, more for the benefit of the rest of the room. “I can’t heal the shit they did to his mind without your help,”

“You can fix this?” Cap asked desperately.

“Cap, from what I’ve gathered they have experimented on his brain for years. Mind controlled him since they took him. Loki and I will do what we can, but I can’t make any promises. Don’t interrupt once we get started,” 

“Please! He- I can’t say what he means to me. He’s been my best friend since we were kids. So please,” Cap begged. You nodded.

“We’ll do what we can,” you promised and Loki nodded his agreement. 

You took Loki’s hand and dived together into the magic and power of healing that poor man’s mind. It took hours to make progress. It was slow and power draining, exhausting work, but the man was in such need that you couldn’t not do the healing. Loki finally had to physically drag you away from the man. You stumbled and fell backwards into him. 

“He needs us,” you whimpered at him.

“We did all we could for today, love,” Loki told you, holding you on your feet. “You just did a massive extermination and massive healing just the day before yesterday. Just because I supplied most of the power today doesn’t mean it wasn’t draining for you too,” he told you softly while you mewed a protest that the healing wasn’t done. He looked up at the others. “We fixed most of the damage. It’ll take time for him to heal completely and he needs to rest, but he should be mostly back to normal,” 

“Loki~” you whined softly.

“Hush, witchling. I’m quite aware you’re an incorrigible healer, but you’re dead on your feet,” Loki told you gently.

Cap clapped Loki on the shoulder. “I’ll take care of him. Thanks for your help. Do you need help with her?” he asked, gesturing to you. The whole team were quite aware how healers got, especially after your display saving Loki.

“I’ve got her,” Loki replied and tossed you over his shoulder. You protested. “Hush,” he scolded gently. “He’s fine, but you need to rest. Now, come along quietly, or I shall just have to kidnap you again,” he teased. 

“Either put me down or carry me more comfortably,” you grumbled at him. 

“As my lady wishes,” he replied and shifted his grip to hold you bridal style. “Healers,” he sighed exasperated.

“Had to save him. He was so hurt and bruised. Not his fault,”

“I know, darling. I was there. There was a reason I agreed to help you with this healing even though neither of us were in the shape for it. His needs were greater,”

“Brother, you do have a heart,” Thor teased.

“Tell anyone and I shall stab you,” Loki replied. “Alternatively, of course I have a heart you witless oaf, I’m not a monster. Pick which response you’d like,” he grumbled. The team laughed, the air in the room seeming to clear, the lighten. You opened your mouth to protest again that Bucky still needed more healing. Loki’s lips were on yours before you could. “Rest, or kidnapping, darling,” he reminded you of his threat.

“You wouldn’t,” you murmured.

“Force you to rest than let you kill yourself? Yes, yes I would. I love you too much, witchling,” 

“Why aren’t you dead on your feet too?” you grumbled.

“Because I have a thousand years more experience than you do which have grown my powers. Also I did not explode a hundred people, do a massive healing, and then immediately after a brutal magic-hangover, try to heal an injured mind, which is not your specialty in case you forgot,” he reminded you. “Now, are you going to rest willingly?”

“Will you read me a story?”

He chuckled and kissed your forehead. “Of course, love,”


	61. Chapter 61

    “Sig, Sig wake up,” Loki’s voice was urgent, scared, actually scared, as he shook you awake.

    “Huh?” you asked groggily, snuggling closer in your half-asleep haze instead of actually waking.

    “Wake up, Y/N,” Loki told you firmly, throwing the blankets off of the pair of you. The chill air and his following words got you properly awake. “There’s trouble.” Those words always had you instantly awake and aware. You jolted upright, rubbing your eyes against the lights in the room. It was well before dawn and neither of you had any rational reason to be awake at this gods’ cursed hour.

    “I didn’t hear an alarm,” you told Loki as you scrambled out of the bed with him. There should have been an alarm if something was going on, if there was trouble.

    “There isn’t one, but there’s trouble. Trust me. C’mon,” he told you urgently. You heard the fear in his voice and knew whatever it was had to be bad for him to be this distressed. You both summoned your armor with a shimmer of magic. Loki took your hand and rushed for the door of your suite. You had to run to keep up with his longer stride.

    “What’s going on?” you asked as you followed him up the stairs. He was too impatient to wait for the elevator, and too distressed to teleport. You couldn’t help until you knew what was going on.

    “I’ll tell you when we get to Thor. We need him,” Loki replied instead of answering. Thor’s room was a couple floors above yours and you wished Loki was calm enough to think instead of running, but he wasn’t, so you had to attempt to keep up with him or get dragged. He burst through Thor’s bedroom door without knocking when you finally got to his floor. “Brother, wake up!” Loki ordered loudly as the door banged into the wall and the lights blared to life in Thor’s room.

    Thor shot up in bed and threw Mjolnir at the pair of you, half awake at best and surely thinking he was being attacked by incompetent intruders. You shoved Loki behind you and grabbed Mjolnir before it could hit him, grateful that you were worthy to wield the hammer, and therefore worthy to stop it from smashing through your face. “Thor, wake up!” you growled. Thor looked at you then, shocked and horrified that he had attacked you.

    “What’s going on?” he demanded, angry at being woken, and angry out of fear of nearly killing you with his stupid hammer.

    “Mother contacted me,” he tapped his head to indicate telepathically before you or Thor could ask. “There’s trouble at home. We have to go. _Now_ ,” Loki finally explained, his voice a scared snarl and you understood his fear now. If something was bad enough on Asgard for Frigga to contact the three of you here then it was _bad_. Loki was worried for his mother. She was the only one he truly loved there.

    “Wait in the hall. I’ll be there in a moment,” Thor told you both firmly. Loki growled.

    “Mother needs us _now_ ,” he replied, desperate for Thor to get up and come with you immediately. Desperate for his brother to help him. Thor gave you a pointed look, a slight pleading in his eyes for you to be more reasonable than his brother. You flushed, realizing the issue, though Loki was too distressed to realize. You sighed and grabbed Loki’s arm, dragging him back out of the room. Loki glared at you.

    “Sigyn. Let me go. That oaf-” he started.

    You rolled your eyes and cut him off. “Is wearing what _most_ men wear to bed and would like for his brother and his brother’s fiancee not to see his...hammer,” you explained as you pulled the door shut behind you. Loki glanced at Mjolnir still in your hands and your words seemed to get through his brain.

    He growled and rolled his eyes. “You better be out here in the next minute or I’m coming in there after you pants or no!” he shouted through the door.

    “Breathe, love. Your mother is clearly ok enough to send you a message all the way here from Asgard. Whatever’s going on can’t be that dire. It’ll be alright,” you promised, wrapping your arms around his waist. His arms went around you automatically. You could feel his fear in his too tight grip, in the muscles in his arms that shook with the effort to contain his emotions. “Everything will be alright,” you reassured him again. The door opened and Thor stepped through, dressed in his armor.

    “What did Mother say?” he asked shortly.

    “Just that there is trouble and we are needed home immediately,” Loki replied. You reached out and grabbed Thor’s arm and teleported the three of you to the spot you usually called the Bifrost from. Loki looked down at you gratefully. He hadn’t even thought of teleporting. He just wanted to run to the defense of his mother, a small boy’s reaction, not a master magician’s. You handed Mjolnir back to Thor so he could do the honors. He raised the hammer, called to Heimdall, and an instant later the Bifrost opened and you were flying up the rainbow bridge to Asgard.

    A minute later you stepped into the Bifrost room with the boys. Heimdall was standing in his usual spot with the Bifrost sword. “Welcome back to Asgard. The Queen is waiting for the three of you in her chambers.” You grabbed Thor’s arm again and teleported the three of you to right outside Frigga’s sitting room door. You weren’t rude enough to teleport directly inside. That would be unbelievably rude, even in the circumstances.

    Loki was out of your arms the second you had appeared and burst into Frigga’s suite without bothering to knock. He could get away with the behavior. She was waiting for you as Heimdall had said, pacing and absently picking at her left palm out of nerves. Loki rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms. “Mother, are you alright?” he asked, fear and concern in his tone. You and Thor entered the room more calmly. Frigga held Loki tightly and you could see her grief and worry.

    “I am fine, darling,” she finally told the worried Loki, but she kept her hand on his arm even after she let him go.

    “What is the trouble?” Thor asked when she and Loki were both more calm.

    “Come with me and see for yourselves,” she told you all and led you from her chambers, her hand still on Loki’s arm. He escorted her without question and you knew she was taking strength for whatever this was from his presence. You and Thor didn’t begrudge her for it. Thor knew that Loki was Frigga’s son, just as he had always been Odin’s, of course she would go to Loki for comfort.

    It was a brisk walk through the near-empty halls of the palace and you ended up in the healing wing. You straightened your spine, preparing for your skills to be needed for whatever was going on. Frigga led you to a quiet private room at the back of the healing wing. There was only one occupant, though a guard stood outside the door. He stepped aside to let your group in.

    Odin was lying on the bed in the room, surrounded by a gold light. “Your Father has fallen into the Odinsleep,” Frigga told you, worried and sorrowed. She went to the chair next to the bed, her vigil place from what you gathered. “It was unexpected, we don’t- we don’t know when he will wake,” she explained, though it was difficult for her to get the words out. She stumbled over them, concern for her husband clear in her tone.

    You started forward automatically to see what you could do to help, though you didn’t know much about the Odinsleep. Thor grabbed your arm to stop you. “This is not something you can heal, little sister,” he told you softly, gently. He knew that you’d throw yourself into the healing if there was any little thing you could do.

    Loki’s hands were on Frigga’s shoulders and he kissed her hair. “He will wake again, Mother,” he reassured her warmly. She smiled up at him, reached up to touch his cheek.

    “I’m sure Father will wake soon,” Thor agreed, joining Loki at Frigga’s side.

    “Thank you, my sons. Thor, I hate to do this to you...” Frigga started softly, sadly.

    “No, Mother, you know how I feel-” Thor protested instantly. He had grasped what she was getting at before you had.

    “Odin cannot rule like this... and I...” she was too emotionally compromised to assume the throne. “The line of succession falls to you,” she told him.

    “No, I can’t-. I don’t want-. The Midgardians need me, the realms need me out there defending them, not sitting on a throne here bound by politics and court!” Thor protested again. “Let-” he stopped midsentence and looked at Loki. He had been about to say something along the lines of ‘Let Loki assume the throne’

    “Brother, do you really believe that suggestion wise?” Loki asked softly, sadly, his voice hurt and bruised. He had ruled Asgard once before with poor results. You went to him then, wrapped your arms around his waist, reassuring him that things had changed since then. He now, like then, didn’t want the power. He only wanted to be part of the family, to be Thor’s equal.

    You gave Thor a look. He needed to answer Loki’s question carefully to not break Loki again. Thor thought the question over, thought over his answer before he finally spoke again. You hoped and prayed to every deity that might listen that his words wouldn’t break his brother’s heart, that he wouldn’t shatter Loki to pieces with what he said.

    “Politics and court intrigues were always much more your area of expertise than mine. Much as I would have hated to admit it back then, you are much better suited for the throne than I,” Thor replied warmly, with his usual tone of such open honesty that even Loki couldn’t deny that he was telling the truth. “So, I believe that not only is that suggestion wise, but that you are the best man for the job, Brother,”


	62. Chapter 62

    Loki still hesitated. You saw his fear. He never wanted to rule, never wanted that power, that responsibility, and it was being thrust upon him again. He was also scared after what happened last time. You kept your arms around his waist, leaned up to kiss his cheek reassuringly. He gave you a soft smile, but you saw the concern in his eyes. “Brother, the throne is rightfully yours,” he protested one last time, turning his attention to Thor. He would not usurp Thor’s rightful place.

    “I have already stated my reasons for not wanting to acquire it, especially not at this time. I am needed elsewhere, and you-” Thor started to remind Loki. You knew his words weren’t effective, though. There were tears in Loki’s eyes, reminders of painful old memories.

    “I? _I_ am the monster parents tell their children about at night!” Loki shouted at Thor, tears and heartbreak in his eyes. He seemed so much younger, so hurt and broken. Thor opened his mouth to protest, Frigga turned to her sons, but Loki kept talking over their protests.

    You stepped out of Loki’s arms and faced him, glaring up at him. Sometimes Loki needed sense beaten into him instead of gentled into him. “Loki. You’re not a monster,” you reminded him firmly. His arms wrapped around you and he held you tightly to him, as though you were the last real thing in his existence, though he didn’t respond to your statement.

    “You cannot have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard! You never could have!” He didn’t notice the tears that fell from his eyes, that he was holding you too tightly, as if you were the last real thing in his world, as if he would lose you if his grip loosened.

    Frigga stood to face him, calm, gentle, and kind as usual. She raised a hand to Loki’s cheek, brushed away a tear. Even he couldn’t flinch away from her touch and actually laid his head against her cheek. “You are my son, Loki, and we your family, you must know that,” she implored him. She was the only one he could accept reason from when he was upset. “You are a good son and I have always been proud of you. You will make a fine king,” she told him warmly.

    “Mother,” Loki’s voice was soft, worried.

    “You will make a fine king,” she reassured him, just as warmly, just as kindly. “Especially with your lady at your side. We are here to advise you, my son. You do not have to face this trial alone,”

    Loki finally relaxed then, finally reassured that he wasn’t alone. He bent to kiss Frigga’s cheek. “Thank you, Mother,” he finally said. She nodded and touched his cheek again before she returned to her seat, her vigil. You all turned to stare at the door as it opened. Thor had a smile when he saw the guards. He stepped back, out of the way, out of the spotlight. Frigga’s smile was warm when she saw them too. Loki kissed you lightly, let you go, and stepped forward, towards the open door. You saw his hesitation, saw he was still more worried than he wanted to let on. You caught up to him, standing at his side, and took his hand, reassuring him with your presence. You would face this trial together, just as you faced everything else. He looked at you then, gave you a small smile, and kissed the top of your head before he turned his attention back to the guards.

    As one, the guards dropped to one knee, their right hands in fists over their hearts. A wizened man in robes came into view, a cleric perhaps, or a magician. He was carrying Gungnir, Odin’s staff, with him. Loki gulped and straightened his spine. The magician stepped forward and offered Loki the staff. You dropped his hand, but didn’t step away from him, remaining a reassuring presence at his side, he would need both hands to take the offered staff. Someone somehow must have told the magician that Loki was going to assume the throne instead of Thor.

    Still, Loki hesitated and glanced over at Frigga for reassurance that this really was the best thing. She nodded with a warm, proud smile. “Thor’s duties and responsibilities are off-world. The line of succession falls to you. Until Odin awakens, Asgard is yours,” she told Loki firmly, regally, but with her same gentle kindness. Loki turned his attention back to the magician, you saw the disbelief still in his expression, but he straightened his spine, steeled himself, and accepted his duty, carefully taking the staff from the magician, his face hardening from the vulnerable pained Loki to a prince...no, a king who would do his duty to his people. You saw his hesitance, his reluctance at this duty. He never wanted it and that didn’t change now. But he would do what was necessary. He turned back to Frigga, holding the staff now. She still smiled warmly, immensely proud of her son. “Do your mother proud,” she bid him warmly. “My King,” she added with a small smirk to her smile.

    Thor came over and clapped Loki on the shoulder. “I must return to Midgard. Congratulations, Brother. You will do well,” he told Loki warmly. He embraced you and you could feel his tension, his worry, though he knew it was the right decision.

    “I won’t let him fail,” you whispered in his ear, so softly that Loki could never have possibly heard you. Thor beamed at you when he let you go, reassured by your words, by your presence. You were calm and stable, a gentle healer, a good balance for Loki. Thor went to Frigga last and kissed her on the cheek.

    “If you have need of me, send word through Heimdall,” he bid you all and strode from the room. He had wanted to stay to see Loki assume the throne, to see that everything would be ok here, but he also knew he had to return to Midgard now so his presence wouldn’t interfere with Loki’s rule.

    You saw Loki’s flicker of doubt, of hesitation, of fear and worry. You stood up on your toes to kiss his cheek. “I’m here,” you reassured him in a whisper in his ear. “I will stand by your side... my king,” you added with a bit of a smirk in your tone. He relaxed, his expression lightened back to your Loki. You mischievous trickster fiance.

    “You are right, as per usual Sig,” he told you lightly, warmly. “Anything is possible with you at my side, my Queen.” His voice held a hint of a smirk, though you could tell he meant every word, though you weren’t technically queen, you weren’t married yet, and yet... he meant what he had said.

    Everything would be alright.


	63. Chapter 63

    Loki went to Frigga and kissed her cheek. “Mother, I fear we cannot stay. Duty calls. If you have need of anything, send word,” he told her warmly.

    “I will keep watch. Your Father will wake again. Don’t fear, my son,” she told him kindly and reached up to touch his cheek.

    You stepped over to join them. “I’m sure he will wake soon, Queen Mother,” you told her kindly. She gave you a warm smile and nodded in agreement.

    Loki kissed your cheek. “Come along, darling. We have work to do,” he told you warmly and offered you his arm. You placed your hand lightly on his arm and noted that he carried the staff in his other hand.

    “So, what’s first?” you asked when you were safely out of the healing room.

    He sighed. “First, we must tell the people what has happened,” he told you, and you caught the edge of nerves in his tone. You squeezed his arm.

    “You’ll be fine, Loki. You’ve trained for this your entire life,” you reminded him.

    “Darling, I don’t think think you quite appreciate just how poorly it went the last time I was on the throne,” he told you dryly. Really, it had gone terribly.

    You rolled your eyes. “I’ve heard the story, Lo. From you and Thor both. Things have changed. You’ve changed since then. And I’ll be by your side. We’ll do this together,”

    He relaxed and kissed the top of your head. “I love you, my darling,” he told you warmly.

    You stood up on your toes to kiss him. “And I love you, my king. Now let’s go tell the people what’s going on.” You used magic and donned court clothes, including your tiara. Loki did the same, donning his ceremonial clothes and helmet. The guards opened the double-doors to the throne room and you and Loki stepped through. Your hand remained on his arm as you walked together past the gathered. You felt the shock of the crowd as you walked up the steps toward the throne. Loki turned to you, kissed your cheek, and took the last steps up to the throne alone. You took your spot standing in Frigga’s usual place, just below the throne. Stupid patriarchal society didn’t have two thrones, or equality, but that was a problem for another day.

    You saw Sif and the Warriors Three at the foot of the stairs to the throne itself, staring in shock and hoped that Thor’s stupid warrior friends wouldn’t do anything dumb today.

    Loki stood in front of the throne and turned to the assembled court. He banged the staff once against the floor, the noise making a loud echoing noise through the giant chamber. “Father has fallen into the Odinsleep. We do not know when he will wake.” He announced to the crowd. You knew that his use of the word ‘father’ here wasn’t sentiment, but calculated to remind the court that his claim to the throne was legitimate. “In Thor’s absence, the responsibility for Asgard and her people falls to me,”

    The crowd was shocked and confused. So you helped them stop being stupid. You turned to Loki and dipped a low curtsy. Sif and the Warrior’s followed your lead, dropping to one knee and bowing, their right fists over their hearts. You could have sighed in relief that they were being reasonable and doing the right thing. Even if they didn’t trust Loki entirely, they trusted the crown as a whole and knew that Frigga and Thor wouldn’t have agreed to this if it weren’t the best course of action. The court feather-heads finally remembered what they were supposed to do at such announcements. They all bowed and curtsied and a chorus of ‘my king’ rang through the hall. You looked up and saw Loki’s quick glance of gratitude.

    Loki banged the staff again and the court rose and the long boring task of listening to petitions began. It was really long and really boring and you could see the dull questions grating on his temper. Around lunch, you had your chance and moved from your place and up to the throne and your Loki. He looked up at you with an indulgent smile as you leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Yes, my darling?” he asked you warmly.

    “My King, I know duty to our people calls, but you mustn’t forget to eat, and surely the court should not skip lunch either,” you reminded him warmly, giving him as escape.

    He gave you a warm smile and stood to kiss you in front of the entire court. “My Lady Healer is correct,” he reminded the court that healers were over-protective about the well-being of their charges. You were giving him a great excuse to get out of here and he appreciated it. “Petitions to the throne will continue tomorrow,” he announced to the court and with that, you could escape the throne room.

    Loki sagged the second you were safely away from the court. You wrapped your arms around him. “Thanks for saving me, Sig,” he told you with a warm smile and kissed the top of your head.

    “You did great, Loki, and I told you, we’re in this together,” you reminded him. “Now, let’s go find something to eat,”

    *

    The next morning, you took over Frigga’s duties at head healer in the healing wing. You were nervous doing it, but they needed a leader and with Frigga busy, you were the strongest healer in the palace. You were also technically a member of the royal family, though you weren’t married to Loki yet. “You’ll do fine, Sig,” Loki told you warmly as you ate breakfast with the court that morning.

    “I don’t know how to lead anyone,” you whined, realizing that it wasn’t that long ago that you were a shy ghost of a foster-kid. There was no way you were supposed to lead anyone.

    Loki chuckled and kissed your cheek. “You’re a natural, love. The healers already respect you for your skills. You’re the strongest healer in the palace, a princess of Asgard, and my queen. You’ll be fine, my Sigyn,” he told you more firmly and kissed you again.

    You left breakfast together and kissed goodbye when you had to separate to your tasks for the day. You kissed Loki deeply, him wearing his golden horned helmet and you in your tiara. It would have made a lovely picture.

    “Be brave, my darling. You can handle this,” Loki told you warmly.

    “You as well, my king,” you teased. He huffed and rolled his eyes at you. With that and you both relaxed and set off to your respective tasks.

    You steeled your spine and stepped into the healing wing, trying to look more confident than you felt. The healers all looked up at you as you entered the healing wing. “The Allmother is currently unable to attend her duties as head healer,” they all looked concerned at your words, looked between each other to try to figure out what to do. “I will be taking over that responsibility in her stead,”

    *

    You sent illusions to check on Loki throughout the day, knowing he was still nervous, and caught him doing the same. It was adorable of him to worry over you. “I’m fine, Lo,” you told him when you caught him at it. The illusion smirked and vanished. He grinned over at one of your illusions when he caught you at sending them to check on him.

    /I appreciate the concern, Sig/

    /Love you too/ you replied. You were getting better at telepathy with practice, but only practiced with him. Telepathy was one of those powers that could go terribly wrong.

    *

    On top of your duties in the healing wing and helping Loki keep his temper dealing with feather-brained petitioners you had to start working on wedding preparations. It was awful and you hated every moment of it.

    You teleported into the throne room one morning while Loki was between petitioners. “Pardon the interruption,” you told the court who offered you the proper bows and curtsies due your station. “Loki~ can you sign this for me?” you asked and handed him a piece of parchment and a feather quill.

    He raised an eyebrow. “What are you up to, Sig?” he asked and scanned the page, while the court, used to the antics of the two of you by now, was watching on amused by Loki indulging his tiny adorable healer of a lady. They had come to respect Loki’s work. He had a mind for politics and negotiations and when he was focused on helping the people instead of destroying Jotunheim, he was a good king. So they indulged his adorable side when it came to you.

    “Darling, _you’re_ the mischievous one, not me,” you reminded him when he scanned the document too long.

    “That doesn’t mean I’m signing a strange proclamation without reading it, my love,” he reminded you with a warm smile.

    “I wrote up a declaration so our friends on Midgard will be allowed to attend our wedding, even after you Father wakes from the Odinsleep,” you explained. You’d been pouring over law books in your free time to make sure that any declarations that Loki signed while he was temporarily king would still be binding when Odin woke and reclaimed his throne, and had written your declaration carefully so it would be.

    Loki smiled up at you, impressed with your work before he signed the declaration with a flourish. He handed the parchment back to you. “Well written, darling,” he praised. You leaned down and kissed his cheek.

    “Thank you, love,” you told him warmly.

    “Anything for you, my darling,” he kissed you again in front of the court. You apologized again to the court and vanished back to your own duties, glad your friends would be able to attend your wedding.


	64. Chapter 64

    Your days fell into a rhythm. Loki spent his days in meetings and on the throne while you worked in the healers’ wing. You sent fewer and fewer illusions to check on him thorugh the day as he and the people gained confidence in his ability to rule. You did still have to interrupt to remind him to eat lunch nearly every day. He was doing it on purpose, to remind the people of your presence, to show them his softer side so they could see his was more than just a harsh ruler. Odin had used Frigga’s presence in the same way, since she was adored by the court. It took you a long while to realize that you, Loki’s tiny adorable healer, were equally adored by the people, especially for your effect on the reserved prince...now king.

    “Ladies, don’t forget I won’t be in the healing wing for the next three days,” you reminded the healers before you left one evening. “Healer Ingris is in charge in my absence. I will still be in the palace if there is an emergency,”

    “Yes, Lady,” the healers replied.

    With that taken care of, you slipped down to Odin’s healing room. The guards let you pass without quesiton or pause. “How is he doing?” you asked Frigga when you entered. She had scarely left her vigil. You knew Loki checked on her all the time through illusions if nothing else, and you made a point to check on her daily. She’d also insisted on drop in formality recently.

    “No change, I’m afraid,” she told you just as sad and concerned as usual.

    “He will wake again,” you reassured her, just as you had every time you’d been to see her.

    “It is just a matter of time,” she agreed and reached up, placing her hand against your cheek. “I am proud of both of you,” she told you warmly. “Even here I have gotten reports of how great a king Loki has turned out to be and it has not escaped my notice that you have done spectaluarly acting as head healer in my absence,”

    “You’re too kind, Queen Mother,” you replied. Ok, maybe not all of the formality was gone, especially when you were faced with unexpected praise. “I couldn’t hope to fill your shoes,”

    “But you have, darling. You are both doing an excellent job and the people respect you. A mother could not be prouder.” She told you gently, kindly, in her calm caring way. You had tears in your eyes at that. You’d been a foster kid with a rough journey through the foster system until you’d landed in the Avengers’ lap. You’d never had a mother. And now? Frigga had adopted you as one of her own. It was what Frigga did, but it touched your heart all the same.

    “Thank you, Lady Mother,” you replied softly, tentatively, using the term of address Loki and Thor did when they were being formal. You saw her bright smile and unshed tears glistened in her eyes as well. She was pleased and touched by your response. “Though if you’ll excuse me, I need to make sure your son stops working long enough to eat dinner.” You broke the tense mood before it could get even more tense, before tears could actually shed.

    “Of course, Daughter,” she bid you warmly and let you go find your wayward Loki. Unsurprisingly, he was on the throne. He nodded to you when you entered the throne room and finish with teh noble he was dealing with. He dismissed and court and came to you, greeting you with a kiss.

    “Ready for dinner?” you asked him warmly.

    “Ready to spend an evening with you, my love,”

    *

    Loki wrapped his cloak firmly around you the next morning before he let you leave the suite with him. He was extra overprotective that morning. You were without your powers, and while you didn’t have any duties in the healing wing while you were unwell, you still had to appear in front of the people. You had to let them see that you and Loki were both unafraid for you to appear in front of them in your current condition.

    It was even more important since you were acting King and Queen.

    If it hadn’t been so important, you would have gladly let Loki bundle you in blankets with tea and fluffy novels until you felt better. Instead, you went to breakfast with Loki and sipped on your tea while he tried to cajole you to eat something more substantial than chocolate cake.

    He failed.

    Miserably.

    He sighed in exasperation. “What good is being king if I cannot even get one little witchling to listen to me?” he grumbled, though you could hear the amusement and whining in his voice.

    “There’s more to being king than getting your way all the time,” you reminded him with a laugh in your tone.

    “There’s more?” he asked with all the excitement of Simba.

    You rolled your eyes and smacked his arm for being so silly. “And I’m your fiancee, of course I’m going to tell you ‘no’. It’s good for you,” you reminded him and laid your head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of your head.

    “Yes, dear,” he replied obediently.

    “Loki, would you like for us to watch over your lady?” Sif asked, stepping up to your table. “She would be safe in our care while you attend your duties,” she added. She and the warriors three were slightly more polite to Loki since he had taken the throne, but only slightly, except during actual formal functions where they worked a little harder at it. They’d been friends with Thor forever and Loki by extension, so it was hard on them to switch from seeing him as Thor’s annoying kid brother to their ruler.

    You were just grateful you didn’t have to try. At least not most of the time.

    “Thanks, Sif, but Sig promised to spend the day with me.” It was for the court’s and councils’ safety. Loki could be homicidal at the best of times. If he thought you were threatened, he would be even worse and in your current condition, he wouldn’t trust that you were safe without seeing it with his own two eyes. He’d reassured you that Odin had done the exact same with Frigga as long as anyone could remember so they’d be perfectly used to it and would actually be grateful you were there keeping Loki calm.

    So after breakfast you went with Loki to the throne room, his arm wrapped protectively around your shoulders. He walked you all the way up to the throne while the people gathered bowed and curtsied. You heard the whispered murmurs of warning to be careful. Whether they noted Loki’s cloak and arm around you, sensed your lack of powers, or some other clue, they knew you were without your powers, which would make the king more stabby and homicidal than usual. They didn’t seem overly concerned. Sure, they were concerned, more cautious than usual, but not scared. Loki must have been telling the truth that Odin was the same way for eons.

    It wasn’t until you were tucked safely beside Loki on the giant throne before he would finally turn his attention to the business waiting for him. His arm was around you, while your legs were tucked under you so you could lean comfortably against him. He tucked his cloak better around you and placed a warming spell on it as he pressed a mug of tea in your hands. You smiled up at him and he kissed your forehead, finally relaxing again once you were safe and happy.

    The meetings waited patiently for him to get you settled to his exacting specifications. They were all careful not to appear like this behavior was out of the ordinary. To them it wasn’t. This was just like Odin and Frigga. You listened to the boring meetings and proceedings for awhile until you laid your head on Loki’s shoulder, zoning out because of the boring meetings and the relief of Loki’s healing tea.

    When you were nearly asleep, Loki lifted you from beside him and settled you in his lap, his arm around you and let you rest your head on his shoulder, properly safe and warm in his arms.

    “Just like the queen,” someone in the crowd commented... adoringly? That was the closest you could get to the emotion in their voice.

    Loki’s lips pressed against your forehead when you stirred at being moved.  You shifted to settle more comfortably in his arms. You should have been embarrased to be in his lap on the throne of Asgard in front of the court, but you were safe, content, and his healing tea was doing it’s job. When he spoke, his voice was so soft that even you could barely hear it.“Rest, my queen,”


	65. Chapter 65

    You jolted awake at the sound of the double doors to the throne room burst open. You sat up and Loki growled that your nap and healing rest were interrupted. He surged to his feet, setting you on the throne behind him as he rose. “What is the meaning of this interruption?” he demanded of the young-looking guard who ran up to the steps to the throne.

    “Sir, I apologize for the interruption, but there are giants attacking the palace,” the guard wheezed as he bowed, his hand over his heart in a fist.

    You saw Loki’s mind whirl as he thought out the plan ahead. You stood next to him, willing and ready to help however you could. “Sif!” he called. She rushed forward.

    “My King?” she asked.

    “Sig, go with Sif, defend my parents,” Loki ordered quickly. You nodded and touched his cheek on your way down the steps to where Sif was waiting. He grabbed you before you passed and kissed you. “Keep my mother safe,” he bid you urgently. He knew that even without your powers, you weren’t helpless. You knew what he was doing and didn’t fault him for it. He was giving you a job in this fight, an important one. His mother’s safety was more important to him even than yours. “Sig, if the healing wing is breeched, you know what to do,” Loki reminded you. You knew the backup plan and you’d do it, no matter the cost, you’d protect Frigga.

    You nodded. “We’ll keep her safe. You stay safe too, my king,”

    “I have survived how many battles and still my queen worries over me,” he commented warmly.

    “It is because I worry about you that you have survived,” you replied and stuck your tongue out at him. Even in these circumstances, you couldn’t help flirting with him during battle. “Give us a lift?” you asked when you reached Sif. He nodded and banged Gungir on the floor once. Green magic shimmered around you and you were suddenly in the healing wing.

    “I _really_ hate when he does that,” Sif growled, looking a little green around the edges. Nonmagic folk often didn’t take well to teleporting. You looked around the healing wing which had become your domain.

    The healers were being terrified sheep. Great. Just what you didn’t need. “Ninnies, help us barracade the entrance,” you snapped the order to them. Once they had clear orders, they could stop being sheep and actually do something. They rushed to obey, pushing whatever heavy objects they could in front of the door. “Ingris, keep the patients calm and quiet, use potions where you can. Save your magic for after the battle.” You ordered. You were the strongest healer in the realm and you were out of commission. Sif stayed by the barrier, bladed staff already out to defend the already ill and wounded.

    “Sif, call me if there’s trouble,” you told her. She nodded and you rushed to Odin’s room.

    Frigga looked up as you burst in. “What’s wrong?” she asked, getting to her feet.

    “Giants are attacking the palace,” you told her calmly. “Sif and I are here to defend the healing wing. Everything will be alright, Mother. Loki is in charge of the defense, he will keep our people safe,”

    She gave you a look. “You do not worry for him?”

    “Of course I worry, but I have a job to do too. We trust in each other to do our jobs and survive. Neither of us are weak, even without my powers, I’m an Aesir trained warrior, and Loki has over a thousand more years of combat experience than I do. He will be fine, my worrying will do him no good, but preparing our defenses here will,” she smiled warmly at your reply. So you risked a little snark. “And if he is injured, I’ll kick his ass myself to remind him not to do it again,”

    She laughed aloud at that. “The answer of an Asgardian lady if I have ever heard one,” she told you warmly. “What do you require of me, Daughter?” she asked.

    “Your preparation. I have my orders from the king, and I _will_ follow them, no matter the cost. If the healing wing is breached, we are escaping, even if that means leaving Odin behind,” you told her firmly. She blanched and looked to Odin.

    “I can’t-”

    “You _can_ and you _will_. It will not be any easier for me to run and leave Loki behind if things go that poorly,” you told her. You couldn’t believe you were speaking this way to the proper queen, but she had to be prepared. Loki’s orders trumped her desires at the moment. She looked like she was about to argue. “Loki is king until such time as Odin awakes. His orders are clear,” you reminded her firmly, with the straight spine and regal air you’d had to acquire to deal with the ninnies who were the healers.

    She paused, but eventually gave you a warm, proud smile. “You are correct, Daughter. You have grown into a proper Queen, though you do not yet bear the title officially,” she was proud of you for standing up to her, for doing your duty though it was difficult. You nodded, accepting the praise and returned to the main room of the healing wing.

    “Any news?” you asked Sif. She shook her head. The healers had gotten the patients quiet. “Ingris, Astra, Flora, stay back. With my powers out of comission, you three are the only magical healers we have. We don’t know what we’ll be dealing with once this is over, so I want you three at full strength. The rest of you, I expect that if our barrier is breached, that you will protect your patients with the ferocity of any shield maiden in our history,” you told them all, looking over your crowd of ninnies. They tightened their grips on their knives, scissors, and brooms and nodded to you, prepared to do their duty, just as any Asgardian warrior would be. You drew your dagger from the sheath at your side.

    Things were quiet for a long while until a pair of giants came clamboring through your makeshift barrier. It didn’t matter that you were in pain of cramps. It didn’t matter that you were weak and exhausted without your powers. What mattered is that your home and loved ones were in danger. You could rest when you were safe. You and Sif leapt into action, fighting well together. She knew exactly how you fought, since you fought like Loki, which made sense since he had taught you most of your fighting skills. You’d also fought with Sif before on previous visits to Asgard. “Did you just kick that giant’s legs out from under him and slice his manhood off?” Sif asked watching in awe as you slit the giant’s throat.

    You looked up at her and wiped the blood that had splattered on your face. “Um...it appears I did,” you told her sheepishly. The giant she was working on was dead on the ground as well.

    “Viciously brutal. Loki would be proud, though not what I would expect from a healer,” she told you with a grin. You smirked back at her.

    “So would Lady Natasha on Midgard. She’s the one who taught me that particular move, and I’m not just a healer. I’m a Lady of Asgard, and currently acting Queen.” Sif nodded her approval at those words and you worked together to put the barrier back together. You whirled when you felt magic behind you and raised your blade.

    “Sig!” Loki called and rushed forward, but stopped just before he touched you. Illusion.

    “I’m fine. We’re fine,” you reassured him quickly.

    “You’re covered in blood,” he commented dryly.

    You gestured to the giants dead at the doorway. “Theirs, not mine.” He sighed in relief.

    “We’re doing one last sweep of the palace, but we think we’ve killed or repelled them all. That will teach the giants to think the palace is undefended just because the Allfather is not on the throne,” Loki told you, proud of his accomplishment of defending the people. “Hold out here a little longer. I’ll let you know when it’s safe,” he told you warmly. He hesitated for a moment before he added. “Mother?”

    “Safe with Odin,” you told him. He nodded and vanished as the illusion pressed his lips against your forehead. You hadn’t asked if he was ok. He wouldn’t have told you anyway. His illusion hadn’t looked injured, but that didn’t mean anything. He could cast an illusion that appeared uninjured even if he was gravily injured. You wanted to run and find him, but knew that duty demanded that you stay here.

    He returned a few minutes later, still an illusion. “The palace is clear. I ordered guards down there to clear the healer’s wing,” he told you while you sighed in relief. You nodded and sheathed your blad. “Have Sif walk you back up to the throne room,” he added.

    “I’ll see you soon,” you told him with a smile. He nodded and vanished. Your first stop was to inform Frigga that everything was alright, the giants had been defeated. She was relieved as well and sheathed her own blade. She’d been ready to fight as well, though she wasn’t a warrior, even less of one than you were. She would only fight if there was no other option available. She thanked you again and told you how proud she was of both of you.

    After that was taken care of, you gave a couple orders to the ninnies for cleaning up the healing wing, and went back to Sif. “Sorry you have to babysit,” you told her as you walked back up to the throne room with her.

    “Loki is protective. Moreso when you’re without your powers. I can’t say I’m surprised, though you can obviously take care of yourself. There’s no reason to take chances. Besides, the throne room is near our sitting room, and I’m totally stealing some of Volstagg’s prized ale as soon as you’re safely delivered back to Loki,” she told you with a grin. You nodded and smiled in return.

    “Tell him I ordered you be allowed to have it,” you replied. Her grin broadened. She left you at the doors to the throne room and you went inside, striding right up to the throne. The people saw you covered in blood and you noted their approval that even in your state you would defend your people. You saw blood dripping down Loki’s arm and rushed the rest of the way up to the throne, pulling a stray roll of bandage from the pocket of your gown as you ran. You seemed to always have bandages in your pockets since you took over the healing wing.

    Loki gave you a warm smile as you ran up to his side and looked over the gash on his arm. “Trickster’s blessing,” you growled, a blessing from the trickster wasn’t a blessing at all. Loki smirked, amused that you were cursing by him. “I wish I had my powers,” you growled as you pulled the tiny emergency first aid kit from your other pocket. Your pockets had acquired a lot of random shit since you took over in the healing wing. He sat in the thron again and you perched on the wide arm of the throne, your feet in his lap, his arm across your lap and got to work, cleaning, then stitching the deep gash in his arm while he went about his court business and the job of cleaning the palace and strangethening the defenses as if nothing strange was going on. No one commented at your work. They didn’t think it strange that the king was being stitched up by his lady while he continued with the court and ruling as if nothing had happened, as if he weren’t being worked on.

    It was impressive to the people that you were here helping and just as impressive to them that he continued his duties while you did. You wrapped the wound in a bandage when you were fiished stitching it up. “Was that it?” you looked him over with a healer’s eye, but was at a disadvantage wihtout your powers. He looked over at you and kissed you.

    “That was it, darling. Thank you,” he told you warmly. “Was that everything?” he asked the head of the guards.

    “Yes, sir,” the guard replied.

    “Send word if anything else urgent comes up,” Loki told them and stood, drawing you to your feet as well. The assembled group bowed as Loki wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close to his side. He teleported you both back to his suite. “Come along, witchling, that was more than enough excitement for you without your powers,” he bid you, and with a little magic, you were clean and in soft fluffy pajamas. Since you were alone, you could sag against him, whimpering in pain and exhaustion. He made soft soothing noises as he swept you into his arms so he could tuck you into bed with too many blankets, fluffy novels, and healing tea. He kissed your forehead when you were settled safely and as comfortably as possible. “Way too much excitement for little witchlings,” he told you warmly.

    “Don’t you have work to do?” you asked him. It was only the middle of the afternoon.

    “They know where to find me if I’m needed. You need me more, my queen. You have done more than a warrior’s work, especially in your current state,” he told you warmly and settled next to you in the bed, letting you lay your head on his chest. He kissed the top of your head.

    “I love you, Loki,” you murmured as his healing tea took effect, brewed stronger than usual because of the excitement, because he knew that more exertion would make your condition worse.

    “And I you, my Sigyn,” his lips brushed your hair as he spoke.


	66. Chapter 66

    The next two days passed in relative peace, despite that you kept cursing about being without your powers. The palace was cleaned and repaired from the attack, Loki’s duties went on as usual, though he would scarcely let you out of his sight. You caught a few naps in his lap on the throne. He loved it when you did, loved that you were safe, even without your powers. You fretted over his wound and kept cursing your lack of powers.

    Loki chuckled when you’d fretted too much. “Fear not, love. It’s just fine. I’m fine. I’m not a weakling who can’t live with a little cut for a couple of days,” he reminded you warmly after you’d fretted once too often.

    “But-” you protested, hating seeing him injured, even with such a small injury.

    “You’ll heal it tomorrow,” he reminded you warmly. “Stop fretting, Sig. That is an order from your king,” he added, teasing. You rolled your eyes at him.

    “You didn’t think that would actually work, did you?” you tease and kiss him.

    “Not at all, but a smile and a kiss from you was well worth it,” he grinned in reply.

    *

    The second you got your powers back, you healed the cut on Loki’s arm. He kissed you when you had. “See? I told you I could survive a few days with a small cut,” he told you warmly. “We’ve gotten quite spoiled having a healer around,” he added.

    “I’m sure the team realizes that by now. I haven’t been there to heal them in a month. Poor Clint is probably full of bullets by now...” you mused, but with a touch of real concern.

    “Darling, they’d contact us if they need our help. I left one of the ravens with Thor just for that purpose,” he reminded you.

    You sighed. “I know. I can still worry about our friends. They’re helpless without us,” you reminded him, trying to joke and reassure both of you that the team would be ok without you. They’d survived without you just fine until you’d moved into the tower. They could survive however long you were ruling Asgard.

    Or so you thought until a couple weeks later when a raven flew into the healing wing. You didn’t think anything of it at first. Ravens flew around the palace like owls at Hogwarts, and served much the same purpose most of the time. You even got messages as head healer occasionally, so it really wasn’t that strange. Except that you noted the air of magic around the raven, stronger than the others who had come to see you. This one was one of Odin’s. You went to it and removed the note from its leg. The team was in trouble.

    You donned your battle armor with magic and turned to the healers. “Healer Ingris, an emergency has come up. You’re in charge until I get back,” you told her firmly.

    “Yes, my lady,” she replied, extra polite when you were barking out orders, when you were in battle gear. Everyone in Asgard knew to fear the healers when they went into battle. It was best to do what the healers said.

    You nodded and teleported directly to the throne, propriety the least of your concern. Loki jumped to his feet when he saw you appear in your armor. “Sig?”

    “Midgard is in trouble. The team- Thor-” you told him. You saw the hesitation in his eyes. He couldn’t leave Asgard. He had to stay on the throne and rule here. You saw the hesitation, saw the heartbreak in his eyes that he couldn’t come. “I’ll return to Midgard, help your brother and the team,” you told him quickly. He started to open his mouth to protest that he should come. “There must always be a member of the House of Odin upon the throne of Asgard,” you reminded him firmly.

    /There must always be a Stark in Winterfell?/ he teased telepathically. You gave him a small smile.

    He nodded. “Take the Tesseract from the vault so you don’t have to rely on the Bifrost. If Thor-” his words cut off. “Come get me if-”

    You nodded. The Tesseract would allow you to come and go as you pleased without waiting for Heimdall. “I’ll kick his ass myself for scaring you, my king,” you told him firmly, determined to reassure him that the team would be ok. He gave you the barest hint of a smile.

    “Be safe, darling,” he bid you. “If you are injured I shall be quite cross with you,” he reminded you with love in his voice.

     “I love you too,” you told him and teleported down to the vault, not bothering with walking when time could very well be of the essence. The guards looked like they wanted to stop you, until they realized who you were. They still didn’t look convinced, though, even though Loki had been down here with you to show you how to use the Tesseract in the first place. “The King has ordered me to use the Tesseract to return to Midgard and aid Thor,” you informed him as you strode over to the Tesseract and picked it up. A little focus, a touch of power to activate the power of the Tesseract, and you were in the common room of the tower. You vanished the Tesseract to a dimensional pocket to keep it safe.

    “Jarvis, where’s the team?” you asked after you’d appeared and no one was here. You summoned your comm device to put into your ear, while Jarvis rattled off a location. “Guys, I’m here!” you called into the comm.

    “Y/N! Thank god!” Came a chorus from the team.

    “Get your ass over here. We need all the help we can get!” Stark called over the comms.

    “Incoming. Don’t shoot me,” you reminded them and teleported to where they were. The battle ranging around you was huge. There were aliens... seriously... aliens? and monsters, maybe monster aliens. It was hard to tell.

    “Thor’s down!” Cap called when you appeared. Thor was easy to spot and you knew it had to be bad for him to be down. He could withstand nearly anything. You ran to his side, your hands already glowing blue by the time you reached him.

    “Thor!” you called. He was bleeding from so many words. “If you die, I will be bringing your ass back from Valhalla so Loki can kill you again himself,” you told him as you knelt beside him to begin the healing.

    “I expect nothing less,” he told you weakly. “There was just too many of them. All ganged up on me at the same time,”

    “So we’ll kick their asses once you’re back on your feet. Don’t make me go get your brother. He’s already worried,” you told him as you dumped more power into healing him faster.

    “He said no such thing,”

    You rolled your eyes. “Of course he didn’t. But it killed him to stay behind, though duty demands it,”

    “The House of Odin must be on the throne,”

    “And so he is,” you told him. “He’s been such a good king, Thor. You’ll be proud of him.” It took longer than you’d have liked, but you got him healed and back on his feet. He grabbed your hand and hauled you back to your feet too.

    “On your feet, Sig. No time to rest in this battle,” he bid you. You nodded, shook off the haze of power drain and dove into battle. The battle was long and brutal. You had to save teammates from the brink of death more than once until you finally found the hole between the worlds that the aliens were using to cross to Earth from their world. You managed to magic the portal shut. Clint tried to cover you while you did, but you still ended up with a spear in your side.

    You turned to the offending alien. “That was just plain rude,” you informed it and set it on fire, glaring in anger that it had harmed you. It flailed behind you, shrieking while you turned your attention back to the portal, forcing it shut again while most of the team blasted the aliens on the other side, keeping them from coming through. “Thor, a little help!” you called as he landed.

    “What do you need?” he asked, looking at the spear in your side.

    “Pull the spear,” you told him through gritted teeth.

    “But-” that was usually a stupid thing to do.

    “I’m a healer, do it,” you growled at him. He gripped the spear and yanked it out of your side. Before it could start bleeding worse, you used shields to emergency bandage it.

    The rest of the team was taking down the remaining aliens. You were breathing heavily, drained. “Cover Nat and Clint,” Thor told you firmly, giving you a safer position to finish the fight from. You nodded and accepted his order, accepted the safer assignment. You had done enough already, especially injured. You covered Nat and Clint while they fought the aliens long distance with guns and Clint’s bow. It wasn’t long at all before the remaining aliens were defeated.

    The team gathered around you, glad to see you, and worried over your injury until you reassured them that you were ok. It would be a quick heal when you got back to Asgard. Thor touched your shoulder. “How’s he doing? Really?” he asked, concerned for his baby brother and the responsibility he put on his shoulders.

    “He’s doing spectacularly, Thor. He was nervous at first, of course, but he makes a wonderful king. The people love him and trust in his decisions for the realm. They even seem to care for me at his side. I’ve actually taken over as head healer in Mother’s absence,” you add that last part a little proudly. Thor raised an eyebrow at your use of the word ‘mother’. You flushed, but he smiled warmly, approving of the change of address for Frigga.

    “I’m glad to hear it,” Thor told you warmly. “I knew he’d be a good king,”

    “He really, truly is. But I should get back to him before he worries even more. He was so distraught when the raven arrived. Especially since he couldn’t come help himself,”

    “He did his duty as king and remained behind,” Thor reminded you. You nodded.

    “I know, but he still worries, enough that he sent me with this,” you pulled the Tesseract out of the dimensional pocket.

    “He really was worried to send you with that,” Thor commented while the rest of the team gasped and protested at the cube being out of Asgard’s vault.

    “If he asks, I kicked your ass for worrying him,” you told Thor with a smirk. You said goodbye to the others, promised you’d come home as soon as you could, and used the Tesseract to teleport back to the throne in Asgard.


	67. Chapter 67

    Loki stood the moment you appeared back in the throne room. His expression had already been worried, anxious for your return, concern for his brother and your friends. He hadn’t _truly_ expected that you would be hurt. It was a possibility, it always was, but the team circled around the healer, they kept you safe since you could heal any of them in an instant, but couldn’t heal yourself. Not that you needed their protections most of the time either, you were a perfectly capable fighter.

    This time however.

    This battle had _really_ sucked.

    Hell, Thor had nearly died.

    Loki’s face blanched when he saw the shields on your side, recognizing your emergency shield bandages for what they were, when he saw the blood, the gaping would in your side. The rest of the gathered Asgardians were just as shocked and horrified that their princess had been injured on a mission for the crown.

    There was still duty to take care of.

    Duty came first. As a princess of Asgard addressing her king, duty had to come first. So you stood tall, ignoring the wound in your side as any warrior did when giving their report. “Your brother is safe, my king,” you told him clearly and heard the sighs of relief from the crowd.

    With that one statement your mission was complete.

    Loki threw off his shock and dropped the staff, running to your side. He caught you before your legs could collapse from under you and lowered you to the floor gently, kneeling beside you. He looked up and growled at the guards. “Get the healers here this instant,” he paused for a moment, fighting the necessity of the order, but swallowed his emotions to add more carefully, more controlled. “Please ask my mother to come as well.” He didn’t want to interrupt Frigga’s vigil, but he would for this. The guards ran off to do what they were told. Loki cradled you to him. “Stay with me, love,” he bid you softly.

    “I’m ok,” you reassured him. It wasn’t _that_ bad since you’d mostly stopped the bleeding with your shields. Yes, it hurt, and yes, you’d like nothing more than to pass out and sleep until it was healed, but you’d be ok.

    He glared at you, but softened his expression to loving exasperation. “Darling, kindly do not lie to the god of lies. It hurts my nose,” he told you, keeping his voice light and caring, a gentle healer’s croon. It made you laugh, but that only concerned him more when you winced at the pain of laughing with an open wound in your side.

    You lost track of time, cradled safely in Loki’s arms, even as your shields failed. He ripped off his own cape to hold against the wound in your side to staunch the bleeding.

    “WHERE ARE THOSE HEALERS!?” he roared, magic and anger sparking around him. Even as king, there was only so much he could do. Though he’d tear the whole palace down stone by stone if that’s what it took to save your life.

    It only took a moment for the healers to come running into the room, Frigga in the lead of them. She really would leave Odin’s bedside for this. You hadn’t quite thought she would. Her love for Odin had kept her at his bedside for weeks already, and nothing but giants in the palace had even threatened that vigil. Yet, she had come for you.

    Loki laid you down before the steps to the throne, still holding his cape to the wound in your side. Frigga knelt beside you and got to work immediately.

    Time went wibbly-wobbly again, either from the healing magic or actually passing out. It was hard to tell.

    The next thing you knew, you were in Loki’s arms and he was carrying you back to his suite. “Loki?” you asked him softly.

    He smiled at you with such relief in his eyes that it nearly broke your heart knowing how worried he’d been. “I’m here, darling, you’re alright now,” he told you his voice gentle and reassuring. “Mother healed that nasty hole in your side. It should be completely healed by morning,” he added as he shifted his grip to squeeze you a little, to reassure both of you that you were safe in his arms. “How, pray tell, did you manage to get that hole in your side?”

    You sighed overly dramatically. “Clint _sucks_ at covering my back,” you whined at him, teasingly, lightly, a reassurance that you were ok enough to joke. He would know and understand. You felt the tension in his shoulders ease.

    “Well, I shall be killing him when we return to Midgard,” Loki replied dryly. You laughed and he chuckled as well, his concern for you finally easing with your reassurances. “Seriously, darling, what happened on Midgard? It had to be major for you and the oaf to have both been injured,” he bid you to tell him. He wasn’t all-seeing like Heimdall. He’d been stuck here helplessly for all that he was king, there hadn’t been anything he could do to help you or his brother.

    “It was an alien invasion. Horrible monsters had made a portal between the realms. They just came pouring through in droves and it took all of our skills to hold them back. Thor was already down when I got there. The sheer number had overwhelmed him. I finally found the portal they were coming through and used magic to close it again, but they were still coming through. The team tried to cover me, since I couldn’t defend myself and close the portal at the same time. They really tried, but I took a spear to the side before I got the portal closed,” you explained.

    “Ah, _that’s_ what made that wound,”

    “Yeah, the oaf pulled it out so I could slap some shields on it to make it back here,” you explained. He kissed your forehead.

    “I’m just glad you’re alright,” he told you warmly and carried you the rest of the way to his suite. He tucked you into his bed and kissed your forehead. “Rest, love. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything hurt you, not here where I can stop it,” his tone started to change from loving, caring to pain, anger, frustration. “I’m so sorry I let you face that fight alone. I should have been there with you. I should have helped you. I shouldn’t have been chained here to that damn throne,” he growled, frustrated.

    You sat up and touched his cheek as he sat down on the bed next to you. “Loki, until the allfather rises from the Odinsleep, you’re the king of Asgard,” you reminded him patiently. He knew this. He knew the implications. He knew his duty better than you did. “Your duty demanded that you stay here and defend Asgard and her people. It was a hard decision and I know how much it hurt you to stay behind, but you did the right thing, even though I was in danger. Much as we both hate to admit it, there are things that are more important than either of us, and the demands of duty and honor are among them. I’m not a helpless Midgardian mortal. I am a competent warrior, a healer, a Lady of Asgard; yes, I was injured, but that’s the inherent danger in our line of work. I saved Thor. We saved our friends and Midgard. Everything worked out,”

    “This time! And you were still injured. What good is being king if I can’t even keep the love of my life safe?” he demanded with tears in his eyes. You heard the helplessness in his voice, the depth of the worry he hadn’t let the people see. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him to you, his head went to the crook of your neck and he wrapped his arms around your waist.

    “I’m here; I’m safe,” you reassured him as he fought back tears.

    “I was so afraid for you. There was _nothing_ I could do but let you go. It was the only way to save Thor, but I hate that I risked _you_ to do it!” he told you and you felt the tears land on your shoulder, though he was fighting hard not to. You finally appreciated the strain ruling the realm was putting on him. You had the feeling he hadn’t appreciated it until he’d had to make that hard decision. The weight of the realm hadn’t felt so heavy on his shoulders until duty prevented him from helping two of the only beings in the nine realms he actually cared for.

    “I know, love, I know,” you told him and rubbed his back, stroked his hair, soothing, calming. “I’m here and I’m safe. Thor is alive and well on Midgard. I know it was hard. Hard isn’t a strong enough word for how much it must have unbelievably _sucked_ to be in that situation. Things in life that are worth doing are rarely easy. It was the right decision and in this instance, you can be sure it was because of how hard the choice was to make,”

    “I nearly lost you,” he whimpered softly, fear and pain in his voice.

    “No, love. I wasn’t in that much danger. You didn’t send me on a suicide mission. I went to help our team and you didn’t stop me because it was the right thing to do. We _would_ have lost Thor if I hadn’t gone. I had backup, including your oaf of a brother as soon as he was healed. Thor would have died without a healer, and I’m the strongest healer in Midgard, and barring your mother, the strongest one here. I could help protect myself and had we not needed my power to close the portal, it would have been a routine mission. We go on them all the time. I know you feel bad that I was hurt because you couldn’t go yourself, but you said it yourself: I’ll be fine by morning. Everything worked out, love. I’m here, I’m safe, Thor’s safe,” you told him firmly. He shifted, sitting up enough that he could pull you to him and kiss you.

    “I love you,” he told you firmly, with almost a hint of desperation to his tone.

    “I love you too, my king,” you replied with a warm reassuring smile.

    He kisses you again. “My queen,” he said softly, and finally relaxed again. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

    “You’ve been my best friend since we met and loved me nearly as long,” you replied warmly and pulled him back to you, laying back in the bed with his head on your shoulder, his arms wrapped gently around you. You stroked his hair until you both relaxed enough to get some sleep.


	68. Chapter 68

    Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. You wouldn’t say you _enjoyed_ your few months as de facto Queen, but you loved seeing Loki on the throne. He was born to rule and he did it well when given a proper chance. He flourished at it and the people loved him once they knew they could trust his decisions, once he had proven he had their best interests at heart.

    You had not only taken over Frigga’s duties as head healer, but also her seat as head of the mage’s council. The position would really go to Loki when Odin stepped down as king and Thor took over, but with Loki on the throne, he had needed you to take over the mage’s council. It was strange to be giving orders and having actual authority over people, over not just the few healers in the healing wing, but having royal authority over all of the mages of the realm. It was overwhelming at times, but you managed and realized that you had earned the respect of the mages on the council with your ideas and you willingness to stand against ideas that weren’t the best for the people. They hated it when you did it, but they were impressed that you’d stand against them.

    You weren’t technically supposed to have power, you weren’t _technically_ princess until you were married, but when the king gave you authority... even the temporary king, it was good enough.

    Between you and Loki you kept the kingdom running smoothly. No major incidents besides your injury from the attack on Midgard. Loki had handled the giant attack well and giant attacks were normal occurrences here so it wasn’t considered an _incident_.

    You’d fallen into the roles of King and Queen and it had somehow felt like it was never going to end.

    Unfortunately it all came crashing down around you when one of the Einherjar rushed into your chambers to inform Loki that Odin had finally woken from the Odinsleep. You and Loki both got out of bed quickly and dressed with magic so you could rush down to the healing wing. Though Loki didn’t much care for Odin, for which you didn’t blame him, Odin had still been his father for a millennia, and he couldn’t help caring for him. He looked to the Einherjar who was standing outside of Loki’s suite waiting for you and waiting for orders. For a little while longer at least, Loki was king.

    Loki spared the man a glance. “Please send a message to Heimdall and ask him to inform Thor of the update on Father’s condition,” he bid the guard. Loki was eternally polite, and could even get more polite when agitated. He’d actually earned respect from some of the court for not losing his polite air because of his power.

    You heard Odin’s roars before you even entered the healing wing. “YOU LET A FROST GIANT SIT ON THE THRONE OF ASGARD?” he was roaring, presumably at Frigga. Loki stiffened beside you, and you saw the years of old pain haunt his eyes before he shut down his expression. Odin hadn’t even give his son a chance. You led the way into the healing wing. For a little while longer, at least, it was still your domain and Loki was always your charge. Always. You wouldn’t let Odin hurt him.

    You paused when Frigga replied. Her voice was soft when she replied, but that quiet tone contrasted with Odin’s roar in such a way that it would draw his attention from his rage. “No, your _son_ did his duty to the realm and took on the burden of the throne,”

    “The duty should have gone to Thor as firstborn,” Odin replied sourly. He really hadn’t wanted Loki on the throne and was trying a lame excuse to be mad that he had been there.

    “This is not Midgard. You know perfectly well that the duty of the throne does not fall automatically to the firstborn, but to whichever of your heirs is best suited for the throne. Loki was best suited for the throne at this time. And he’s done _admirably_ at ruling,” she adds with pride. “He and his lady both. The people respect him and his decisions, the realm is prospering, he cares for the people, and is a wonderful ruler. Sigyn has done remarkably as head healer and running the mage’s council and the people absolute adore her,” she had such pride in her words that it warmed your heart and you saw that Loki was reassured by it as well.

    “They... did well?” Odin asked, his voice full of disbelief.

    “They did absolutely wonderfully,” Frigga replied warmly.

    Loki was reassured enough that he could finish what he came down here to do. He opened the door to Odin’s healing room and stepped inside with you at his side, your hand on his arm out of habit. Odin was sitting up in bed with Frigga sitting next to him, obviously delighted that he was awake and aware again.

    Loki went straight over to the bed, standing close to Frigga, you followed, but stayed a step behind him. This was his family and his responsibility. “Father, thank the Norns you are alright,” Loki told him a bit stiffly, for having overheard Odin’s roar.

    Odin looked displeased to see Loki instead of Thor first, but it would take Thor some time to get here from Earth. Loki steeled himself for his Father’s displeasure. “Your mother tells me you have ruled Asgard well in my absence,” he finally said.

    “Mother is quite kind to say so,” Loki replied humbly, though you could hear the pride in his words. He’d wanted to hear that he’d done well. “Are you prepared to resume the throne?” he asked the formal words the situation demanded.

    “I am prepared,” Odin answered just as formally. Loki handed Gungnir back to Odin when he stood from the hospital and gave his report of the goings on for the last three months. He spoke clearly, concisely, and included both the good and the bad of what happened during his reign. Odin actually for once seemed impressed with the decisions Loki had made in his absence and how well the realm was prospering.

    In fact he was so impressed that:

    “Well done, my son,” Odin told him with actual pride in his eye. “Your Mother was correct in her assessment. You have done admirably.” Loki’s formal mask cracked ever so slightly and you saw the pure undiluted joy in his eyes that Odin had actually acknowledged that he had done something well.

    The moment was ruined by Thor bursting into the healing room. “Father! You’re well!” he boomed and embraced Odin, clapping him hard on the back.

    You wrapped your arms around Loki and his arm automatically went around your shoulders as he kissed the top of your head. “He’s proud of you,” you told Loki warmly. He smiled down at you, his eyes shining.

    “He is,”

    That was all he had to say, but you saw the joy in his eyes and the pride that he was finally, _finally_ worthy in Odin’s eyes. You leaned up and stole a kiss. “Well done my king,” you told him in a whisper.

    “King no longer,” he replied and seemed a bit grateful to have the responsibility off of his shoulders.

    You grinned at him. “Always a king to me,” you told him warmly. He grinned and held you closer leaning down to kiss you.

    “And you will always be my queen,”


	69. Chapter 69

    With Loki’s report completed, there was only one more official duty you had to complete before you could go back to Midgard, before you were completely free of the duties of the throne for hopefully a long while. The entire royal family went to their chambers to get ready for it.

    “Relieved that this should be the last official function until our wedding in a couple months?” you asked Loki as you were getting dressed in one of your formal gowns. All of the gowns on Asgard were floor length beautiful, comfortable creations, but the formal ones were more intricately designed, higher quality fabrics, and this particular lovely forest green gown shimmered when it caught the light. You’d gotten quite used to wearing floor-length gowns over the last few months, though rarely needed to wear such formal-wear. Such things were saved for coronations, holidays, really important events. You’d hadn’t had to wear one since your betrothal ceremony, but this event was formal, so formal dress it was.

    And on your head was the beautiful golden circlet that would be yours officially when you were married.

    Tradition was being thrown a bit out the window. It was only a couple months until your wedding, and you’d been acting as queen for the last three months, so you were acting as princess for this last official court function, even though it wasn’t _quite_ official yet.

    So you settled your circlet on your head and found yourself staring in the mirror, surprised at the princess you saw there. It wasn’t _that_ long ago that you were just a weird foster kid with powers.

    Loki came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you, placing a kiss on your cheek. “You’ve always been a princess to me, love, and my queen these last few months and forever more,” he told you warmly. You turned and kissed him.

    “And you will always be my king,” you told him warmly, looking over his formal finery and golden horned helm. “Handsome as ever,” you told him approvingly. He smiled warmly and placed a soft kiss on your lips.

    “And you are radiant, my darling. Shall we?” he asked, offering you his arm. You laid your hand automatically on his offered arm and he led you from his chambers, which had become both of yours over the past three months, and to the throne room. You’d made this trip with him a good hundred times over the past few months. You realized that the palace of Asgard had become to feel like home, just as the Avengers Tower did.

    You met up with the rest of the royal family outside of the throne room. They were all dressed in their best. Thor in his formal armor and stupid winged helmet that he never wore, Frigga had her best golden gown, even Odin was looking formal and held Gungnir. He led the procession into the throne room, escorting Frigga. Thor followed alone behind him and you knew that he usually walked with Loki during these processions. He had to be missing it, though he wouldn’t let any of the people see how it hurt him to be walking alone. Loki shifted to hold your joined hands up at about chest height in formal escort as you followed Thor down the aisle surrounded by cheering Asgardians and up the steps toward the throne. Odin stood before the throne, Frigga at his side. Thor stopped on the top step, taking his position there, just to one side of the throne. Loki kissed you and took his position on the top step on the other side of the throne from Thor.

    For the first time you took what would be your official place in all future court functions one step below Loki.

    While the place wasn’t technically yours yet. You’d more than earned it acting as queen for the past few months.

    Odin banged the staff on the floor and took his seat. You had to remain standing, as did everyone but Frigga, who could perch on the arm of the throne, or join Odin on it, but she stood beside him today.

    “As you are aware, I was in the Odinsleep for these past few months. My son took over my duties in my stead and I could not be more proud of how he handled the responsibility. The realm has thrived in his care and it is clear that he loves and cherishes our realm and our people. He has my gratitude,” you couldn’t believe that Odin was so publicly praising Loki. Based on your glance at Loki’s expression, neither could he. His expression was his careful court mask, but you saw the minuscule crack in it, saw his cheeks tint ever so slightly, saw the hint of pride in his eyes. Only you who were so close and knew him so well were able to see it.

    Odin spoke for awhile longer, reassuring the court that he was very much alive and well and resuming his proper place and duties immediately.

    *

    You spent the rest of the day in Asgard, making sure things were turned back over to Odin and Frigga as smoothly as possible. There was a huge feast that evening and you spent the night dancing the night away with Loki. He was full of joy at having the burden of the throne removed from him, and seemed even more excited that Odin had finally praised him and acknowledged his contributions.

    You intended to return to Midgard the next morning, but had a hard time tracking down Frigga to tell her one last goodbye. You finally decided to check the throne room on a hunch, and found her curled in Odin’s lap dozing, wrapped in his cloak, much as you had been when you’d been without your powers. Loki’s reassurances over the past few months were completely confirmed by Frigga’s current state. You hadn’t quite believed him until that moment. You couldn’t help smiling at the scene. It was hard to imagine Odin as tender, but he truly cared for Frigga, and it was apparent with how he held her safe in his arms while she was vulnerable.

    She must’ve sensed Loki’s presence, because she woke from her doze and rushed over, despite Odin’s protests otherwise, to come hug you both. Loki hugged her and kissed her cheek and promised that he’d see her soon.

    With that taken care of, you dragged Thor from Sif and the Warriors Three and the three of you made your way to the Bifrost. You said goodbye to Heimdall before you stepped through. A minute later and you were standing outside the tower, standing in front of your other home.


	70. Chapter 70

    You linked your arms with Thor’s and Loki’s and walked with them into the tower and your home. They both chuckled at you and you gladly headed inside with your boys. Both of them leaned down at the same time to kiss your cheeks and you grinned. They could be adorable when they felt like it. Loki had mellowed out a lot. It wasn’t that long ago that he wouldn’t have risked being so adorable where people could see him. And as usual, the press was there, summoned by seeing the Bifrost in the sky. They weren’t surprised at seeing the three Asgardians and you turned when you reached the doors of the tower so you could pose for them and they could get a picture. The boys smirked and kissed your cheeks again. It would be an excellent picture for the press.

    You loved your adopted older brother in Thor and he’d only adopted you more since you’d become officially engaged to Loki. You were grateful more and more that he’d saved you from the abusive foster home all those months and months ago.

    “Mother said you two did fantastic ruling,” Thor told you as you waited for the elevator. You both flushed under the praise.

    “We did the best we could,” you finally replied.

    He pulled you close and kissed the top of your head while Loki mock-growled at him. “I’m proud of you both, and eternally grateful that you took that responsibility. I would have been terrible at it,”

    “You would have,” Loki agreed quickly which made all three of you laugh. Some things didn’t change and you could see how relieved Loki was to no longer have the burden of the throne on his shoulders, the burden of the responsibility of the entire realm.

    Thor hesitated before he spoke again. “Brother, you do remember that the line of succession does not necessarily fall to the eldest?” he reminded Loki softly.

    “I know,” Loki replied just as softly. “I highly doubt Father will change his mind on who he wishes to be heir,” he reminded Thor sadly.

    “The line of succession falls to the eldest unless the Allfather names a different heir, correct?” you asked, though you knew the laws fairly well now. You’d had to learn them quickly over the last few months.

    Both boys nodded. “The law is written that way to ensure the child best suited to rule is the one who inherits the throne,” Loki explained for your benefit. “Father cannot name a Jotun as heir to the throne of Asgard,” he told Thor. The entire realm knew that he was adopted now, so there was no more hiding it.

    “He and Mother will choose whoever is best to rule Asgard to name as heir,” Thor replied unconcerned as the elevator doors slid open on the common room.

    Everyone was gathered there waiting for you and cheered when you stepped out of the elevator. There were hugs all around except for Loki who didn’t do hugs. Nat clapped him on the shoulder which is about as close to hugging as Loki got.

    “They let _you_ be king, reindeer games?” Tony teased.

    You answered before Loki could stab Tony. “He took up the burden of the throne and did wonderfully. By the way, you’re all coming to our wedding,” you told them, changing the subject before Tony could say anything else to get himself defenestrated or stabbed.

    “How?” Nat asked excitedly. Everyone else was excited too. “Odin doesn’t allow mortals in his realm,” she reminded you.

    You smirked. “Ah, but he can’t legally overrule the declaration Loki signed while he was king allowing you all to come to the wedding. I made sure of the laws when I wrote that declaration,” you explained.

    Loki kissed your temple. “It was craftily written, witchling,” he told you warmly.

    You turned and looked up at him, your arms on his shoulders as you stood on your toes to “High praise indeed, silver tongue,” you teased.

    Tony rolled his eyes and huffed in exasperation. There were more things that never changed, including you and Loki flirting all the time. “Stop flirting and come meet the new people. You two disappeared before you could meet them properly,”

    You sighed and nodded and stepped away from Loki and further into the room. Cap gestured to the shy looking metal armed man whose mind you’d healed. His eyes lit up in delight as he got to tell you: “This is Bucky, Sargent James Buchanan Barnes. He was my best friend since we were kids and, well you know what Hydra did to him,”

    You nodded. You had healed his mind. You knew exactly what Hydra had done to him and had done your best to reverse the damage. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you,” you told him warmly and shook his hand.

    “Thanks... for your help...” Bucky told you a bit stiffly. He still wasn’t entirely back to normal, you could tell, but he was doing better. Even in the few months you’d been gone, you could see that he was doing better.

    “It was no problem. We’ll help you more now that we’re back,” you promised him with your warm reassuring healer’s smile. He nodded and made a noncommital noise in reply. Poor guy still needed a lot of help.

    “The kid with the white hair is Pietro Maximoff, goes by QuickSilver. His power is super speed,” Cap said, gesturing to the 18 or 19 year old. You saw a hint of a blur and a rose was in your hand. You smirked while Loki ripped it from your hands and it burst into flames.

    He glared at Pietro and you laughed. “Pietro, I suggest you not piss off Loki,” you teased. He seemed like he was going to be either a ton of fun to have around or a pain in the ass. There was no middle ground. “He tends to stab first and ask questions later,”

    “And is protective of his fiancee,” he informed Pietro firmly, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You leaned up and kissed his cheek reassuringly. Loki was always reassured by small gestures of affection and he calmed when he realized his claim on you was firmly staked. It helped that you were wearing the engagement ring he gave you, plus your betrothal necklaces. His claim was very firmly staked and you weren’t going to stray.

    “The girl is his twin sister, Wanda Maximoff, goes by Scarlet Witch. Her main powers are telekinesis and telepathy,” Cap explained. Loki looked interested in having another magic user in the tower. She looked over from the red-skinned man she was talking to. His skin was literally red, nearly firetruck red. She waved at you and Loki and seemed a bit shy. “The guy she’s talking to is Vision. He’s the result of Jarvis getting mixed with an infinity stone and one of Stark’s suits,” he explained as if that was as well as he understood the situation. You made a mental note to ask Stark about it later. Vision looked like he was interested in Wanda.

    You sat around the common room with the others and caught up on what they’d been up to while you’d been in Asgard. You also told them all about ruling Asgard in return. Everything fell right back into place as if you’d never left.

    When you finally went to bed that night, you realized that Tony had redesigned your entire floor while you were gone. The floor was one giant apartment now with a full kitchen, living room and bathroom. All of your and Loki’s things were in the huge master bedroom and you had a guest room set up in one of the other bedrooms and a library in the other. It was perfect and you were beyond grateful to Tony for doing it.

    Life went back to normal in the tower, or at least as normal ever seemed to. You worked on healing Bucky’s mind, went on missions with the team, trained in physical combat and magic with the others. Probably the strangest thing that came was that Wanda and Loki quickly became fast friends. No one quite knew how that had happened, but he liked the little witch. You both helped her with her magic and one night during movie night she and Loki were stared at by the entire team as they sat on the floor painting each other’s nails black.

    Okay, that wasn’t the strangest thing. The strangest thing was a mission shortly after you’d returned. The alarms went off throughout the tower and you and Loki both jumped to your feet, summoning your armor as you did.

    That wasn’t the strange part either.

    Loki’s reached a hand out for his daggers on the coffee table so they would fly to his hand.

    Even that wasn’t the strange part.

    The strange part was when Mjolnir flew into his hand instead.


	71. Chapter 71

    Loki stared in shock at the hammer in his hand. The rest of the team were all staring in shock too. None of them had ever expected that Loki would be worthy. You broke through the shock first and kissed Loki’s cheek. “I knew you were worthy, my king,” you told him warmly. He gave you a warm, but surprised smile.

    “I am not surprised,” Thor told him and clapped him on the shoulder. “You ruled Asgard so well and showed you care for our people. Of course Mjolnir would find you worthy after that,”

    Of course! Loki stayed behind when you and Thor were in danger to do his duty to the throne. That act had likely been the catalyst for Mjolnir’s change of opinion about Loki.

    Loki looked between the hammer in his hand and his daggers on the table. “This isn’t what I summoned!” He quickly dropped the hammer as if it burned his hand and rushed forward to the coffee table for his daggers. He picks them up quickly and you could hear him coo over them, though it was too quiet for the others to hear. “I’m so sorry my darlings. I did not want that stupid hammer over you,”

    You smirked at your silly love and you all went out together to face the newest emergency.

    *

    “Do you need a ride home?” Strange asked when you stood from healing his hands the next time. Your powers were drained from your work on his hands, which was find since you were losing your powers the next day anyway. Strange was concerned, though, you usually asked him for a portal back to the tower after you’d worked on his hands. He didn’t like that you were so low on power and he _really_ didn’t like that you were trying to leave the mortal way, as you’d arrived.

    Especially when you hadn’t brought Loki with you. He was off on a mission with the team, partnered with Wanda, as he had become her mentor. The two were really close, close enough that she seemed to have become his kid sister.

    “Thanks, but I have a couple errands to run on the way home. Thor needs more pop-tarts for one thing,” you said and rolled your eyes at the god’s love for the stupid things. “I drove here anyway,” you added when Strange looked concerned. It really wasn’t that big of a concern that you had driven here. All of Tony’s cars that he actually let leave the tower were all capable of driving themselves home thanks to Jarvis.

    “Be careful,” Strange bid you, still sounding concerned, but you weren’t completely without your powers, and were a capable warrior without them.

    So you waved, promised to be safe and headed out on your errands. You stopped by the bookstore to pick up a present for Loki because you loved him and he was happier and less shabby when bribed with affection and presents. His favorite pastime was still stabbing or poisoning Thor when he was bored, so you went out of your way to keep Loki from getting too bored. And it made him happy when you gave him gifts. Poor thing had been attention starved before he’d met you, besides from Frigga of course.

    So you brought him home a new book that sounded interesting and found a video game that you could play together that might entertain him. He liked playing games with you. You were patient with teaching him the game mechanics and the one you had picked out was an rpg so it would play out like a story on the screen. He’d love it.

    You went to the grocery store and picked up the groceries everyone had asked for, plus ice cream and chocolate for yourself. And about ten boxes of brownie mix. You needed supplies to make it through the next three days. Supplies most definitely included chocolate, brownies, and ice cream.

    Loki would also stab anyone who tried to eat your brownies. Thor had made that mistake one month and you’d cried when you found your brownies eaten. Loki had stabbed his apologetic brother before you could stop him. Thor had had to go to the store, while still bleeding from the daggers sticking out of his side, to acquire more brownie mix in apology. That had made the news as everyone wanted to know _why_ Thor had been at the store while bleeding to buy brownie mix of all things. He’d also had to help you make them before Loki would calm down. After that everyone knew to leave your brownies alone.

    You were planning on spending your afternoon baking, and taste testing, the brownies, at least until the team got home.

    A couple of kids spotted you in the store and dragged their mom over so they could ask for your autograph. You smiled brightly at them and summoned photographs which you signed for them and let their mom get a picture of you with the kids. It was times like that which made you remember how much you really were part of the team. It was hard to remember that you were as famous as Stark, Cap, or Thor, until people, especially kids, came up to you for autographs.

    You finally made your purchases and back to the tower. You parked in the underground garage, the doors opening for you automatically as the car approached. All of Tony’s cars were recognized and let right in. It helped that they all had Jarvis installed and Jarvis also ran the security on the tower.

    You parked in your usual spot and went to the trunk of the car to get your bags, planning on putting the game into the system so it could do its updates while you made brownies and you could play the game with Loki when he got home.

    You weren’t expecting danger, not in the locked garage.

    You weren’t prepared and your senses were dull from your powers being drained.

    You were supposed to be safe in the tower.

    So you didn’t notice anyone had come up behind you until the damp cloth pressed over your mouth and nose. You automatically took in a breath to try to turn and draw a weapon to face the person whose arms had wrapped around you. You smelled something sweet and couldn’t get a proper breath. The bags fell from your hands as the world spun and turned black in an instant. Your limbs grew heavy, your eyes wouldn’t stay open.

    You felt the world fade away and you were helpless to stop it as you drowned in the darkness.


	72. Chapter 72

    You came up slowly from the darkness surrounding you.

    It was hard to swim through the fog and haze around you to return to consciousness.

    Why were you not conscious?

    Your ice cream was going to melt!

    No, wait, that wasn’t a reason to be unconscious.

    It wasn’t any less true, but it wasn’t a reason to be unconscious.

    The fog and darkness around you was hard to think through, but you finally recognized the jostle and sound of highway traffic. You recognized the feel of being in a moving vehicle. It wasn’t one of Tony’s smooth traveling fancy cars.

    You were lying on your side across the backseat of the car, a blanket over you. That wasn't so strange. It _was_ strange that your arms were behind you. You tried to move them, but besides that your limbs were too heavy to move, since your eyes were too heavy to move, you realized that your wrists were bound.

    That had your adrenaline pumping enough for you to remember what had happened. You’d been attacked in the Tower’s garage. And kidnapped.

    Loki was going to be pissed

    Hell, you were pissed

    Pissed, but not stupid. You didn’t open your eyes yet. No need to let them know you were awake before you had to. Your left arm was numb from where you were laying on it. You’d been laying on it for too long to be that numb. You wiggled your fingers a little and found you still could, and the pins and needles agony helped clear the fog from your mind.

    “A fucking blanket isn’t going to fool the cops if we get pulled over. Watch your fucking speed!” a scared youngish male voice said from the front passenger seat. “I told you we should have put her in the fucking trunk!”

    “She’s Asgardian. There’s no way we’re getting all the way there without her waking up. We need to drug her again and it would be obvious if we have a bound girl in the trunk that we’re topping off with drugs. Boss wants her alive and save, so don’t even think of overdosing her just because you’re afraid,” this voice was older, gruffer, still male and the driver.

    “You know what she did to those Hydra agents!” the younger man protested.

    A cell phone alarm went off and was shut off just as quickly. “That’s the timer. Stick her.” You heard velcro open and the distinctive clink of glass syringes as the case they were in opened.

    Shit.

    You were out of time. You snapped your eyes open, took in the car you were in as the young man in the passenger seat turned to you. He gasped. “Shit! She’s awake!” he gasped as you moved, pushing your body to maneuver so you could leverage yourself quickly into a sitting position. It was hard and hurt like hell, but you managed.

    “Stick her quick!” the driver shouted.

    “Let me _go_ ,” you snarled at them, using your legs to shift yourself as far away from the passenger, the one with the syringe, as you could. You tugged on your arms, but they were bound tight. You tried reaching for your magic, but you were drained from healing Strange. You didn’t even have enough power left to contact Loki.

    That left you with stupid ass decision.

    Fuck.

    You hated stupid ass decisions.

    Syringe guy reached back to the backseat to try to get a grip on you to use his syringe. He was going to get you. One of the two of them would. You were outmatched without your magic and with your arms bound and in such a tight space. But you were at least going to make them question the decision to kidnap you. You slid down in the seat, cocked your leg, and drove the ball of your foot as hard at you could into syringe man’s nose. He yelled and clutched his nose, which was bleeding profusely. You tried to sit back up again, but syringe man managed to grab your ankle and drove the needle hard into your thigh.

    “Go the fuck to sleep, bitch,” he snarled at you, blood pouring down his face.

    That was the last thing you saw.

    *

    The second time you started to rise from the darkness, the syringe jabbed into you before you could wake all the way.

    *

    When you finally woke again the first thing you noticed was that the sun was coming up. Fuck. Your powers were gone. You reached for them anyway. But they were gone. You groaned as you sat up slowly, groggily. Your limbs were heavy from the last of the drugs in your system. You were in a small sparsely decorated room with not much more than the four-poster bed you were now sitting in. You looked down at the clank of metal as you moved to sit against the headboard.

    There was a thick heavy rune etched manacle around your ankle. No wonder it had been hard to move. Stupid drugged brain was moving sluggishly. The chain leading from it was crazy long and eventually was locked around one of the bedposts. Bedposts that were too thick for even your Asgardian strength to break. Even if you had been up to strength, which you weren’t because you lacked your powers, which was making you feel like death.

    If Loki didn’t beat you to it, you were going to kill these people, whoever they were and no matter why they had taken you.

    You took more inventory. You weren’t injured besides your fuzzy drugged brain and that would wear off soon. You hoped. You were still wearing the same clothes you’d been taken in. Comfy old jean, a t-shirt, and Loki’s hoodie, though your shoes and socks had vanished. Your engagement ring was still on your finger. You didn’t doubt that Loki had put some kind of tracking spell in it, or he could find you by the lovelock he still wore. You just had to bide your time and not end up dead before he got here. Wherever here was. You climbed out of the bed, careful of the chain and made your way to the window. All you could see was a garden covered in snow. You had to be pretty far north for there to be snow this time of year.

    The chain gave you enough slack to reach everywhere in the room and the small bathroom next to it. But you couldn’t get anywhere near the door out of the room and heading out the window would be stupid. You were on at least the third floor of this mansion, at least it felt like a mansion, and you were chained to the bed. Until that got rectified going anywhere wasn’t happening.

    There was also nothing that resembled a weapon in the entire room. At least nothing you found before the door swung open. You whirled toward the door, falling automatically into a fighting stance. You were a lady of Asgard. You were perfectly proficient fighting with your bare hands. “Oh good, you’re awake,” the woman said as she entered. She was carrying a tray of food with her, which she set on the nightstand. She was too kindly, an older grandmotherly type. She wasn’t in charge here. “My son will be so happy,”

    “What’s going on here? Why was I kidnapped from my home?” you demanded of her, but eased your fighting stance slightly. This little old lady wasn’t going to hurt you.

    “Don’t fret, dearie. I know we had to bring you here a little unconventionally, but we will be sending you home safe and sound,” she promised. You had more than a slight feeling that she was senile. Damnit, you couldn’t hurt a senile old lady to get out of here. Besides, you doubted she had the key to the manacle on your ankle to get out of here.

    It probably wasn’t the _best_ thing to have been considering taking out a little old lady if there was a chance she had the key... but you also weren’t sure you cared. You’d been kidnapped. Propriety took quite a lot of a backseat in this circumstance.

    “When will you be sending me home?” you asked her, gentling your voice some to keep her talking and maybe find out what was going on.

    “Quite soon, dearie. Just as soon as you heal my son we’ll take you right home.”


	73. Chapter 73

“I can’t heal anyone,” you told her firmly. You weren’t going to enlighten her that you were without your powers unless you were forced to. You hoped it didn’t come to that. You didn’t like advertising when you were without your powers. Especially when you were without your Loki. What you wouldn't give right now for him and his overprotective tendencies to be here with you. He would kill everyone here just for taking you from him.

And he wouldn’t blink an eye or have any remorse

You wouldn’t blame him one bit.

“And there’s a process to requesting my services as healer,” you informed her grumpily. The processes were in place for a reason. You were the sole healer in the realm. You couldn’t accommodate every request for healing. The team also made sure that no requests from unsavory people made it into your queue, or things that you couldn’t heal. With no other healers in the realm, at least none that you knew could heal as you did, you had to be careful, or at least others were careful on your behalf. Healers were notorious about having an inability to stop a healing if it wasn't finished, or saying no to someone in need of being healed. That’s why you always had to take a babysitter when you went out to heal someone besides Strange, since he knew how to watch for your limits too. “And kidnapping a healer isn’t likely to endear her to helping you,”

“The Avengers turned down our request three times,” the old lady told you sadly. You stiffened. There were good reasons why the team would turn down a request. Usually it was Jarvis who screened the requests before they even got to the team. They screened them again before they even got to you. The team was extremely overprotective of you, and not just because you were their healer. “They said my Joe was unworthy of healing. But he is so very sick,” the old lady told you. “You’ll meet him in a few days when you’re feeling better and then we’ll send you right home,” she reassured you.

Shit.

She knew you were without your powers.

“The team will come find me,” you told her. “Just let me go, they don’t even need to know I was here. My fiancé is Loki of Asgard, the one who tried to take over the world,” she didn’t need to know he was reformed while you were threatening her with him. Seriously, you’d say or do anything to get out of here

“Don’t fret, dearie, you’re safe and hidden here. There aren’t many healers in the world, but there are plenty of magic users who can hide one witch,” she told you kindly. You were stuck here without hope of rescue until you got your powers back. And then they were going to put you in front of someone in desperate need of healing in hopes that you would just automatically heal him because you were a healer.

This whole plan reeked of desperation.

You huffed and took a seat on the bed. “Can I at least have a book if I’m trapped here?” you growled. You were defeated for the moment and you knew it. She gave you a warm smile.

“I knew you’d be reasonable, dearie,”

*

You wished for Loki or your powers multiple times over the next three days. Pretty much constantly in fact. You were surprised that he hadn’t shown up already, even though you were hidden. He was a master magician. He should’ve been able to do something. Though you knew that even he could only do so much.

It was no matter.

These people were screwed the second you got your powers back.

They were all dead. They just didn’t know it yet and were walking around on borrowed time.

It didn’t help either that you spent your days curled in a ball in the bed without so much as pain pills and you desperately missed Loki’s healing tea.

*

It was nearly midnight when the strong men came into your room and undid the manacle from the bedpost. They left it attached to your ankle. You were up and swinging in an instant, but they were prepared for you and you hadn’t gotten your powers back. Cattle prods should not be used on humans or Asgardians. Especially those without their powers and full strength.

You were so going to kill them.

Until they were flatter than dead.

They led you, half dragging you between them as they led you to the bedroom at the end of the hall. There was a thin frail figure in the bed in the middle of the room, hooked up to all sorts of medical equipment.

You felt how sick he was, even without your powers, it was a miasma in the room, in the very air. He was dying.

The men attached the chain from your ankle manacle to the bed post in here. They were forcing you to stay here with this man and hopefully heal him.

“Hello, little healer. I have been told you will have your powers back shortly. I require your healing services. We will let you go as soon as you have performed that task for me,” he told you with a weasel-y voice. It felt like slime against your skin. It also made your nose wrinkle with the lie. You had spent too long with the god of lies not to recognize one when it was right in front of your nose.

He had no intention of letting you go.

“Don’t think about fleeing when your powers come back. That little anklet you have will ensure you remain here. Teleporting is such a handy skill, but pesky when your services are needed,” he told you, sounding like a used car salesman. He had the same sleaziness about him and it make your skin crawl.

“Who are you?” you demanded. If the runes manacle only limited your teleporting you were still alright. You’d still kill them all and punch a hole in the shields around you blocking Loki from finding you.

The man looked familiar, but you couldn’t quite place him. “Johann Schmidt, Joe to my mother, who you met.” Of course. That’s why he looked familiar.

He was a bigwig of Hydra.

No wonder the Avengers had denied his request for healing.


	74. Chapter 74

Fuck.

They were going to try to make you heal one of Hydra’s bigwigs. 

Morons.

You wondered how on Earth they thought you would _actually_ heal someone in Hydra. They should’ve known better.Even if you were a healer with healer’s instincts to heal anyone injured or sick in your vicinity, you still had standards. Not only standards, but you could control the instincts and you weren’t just going to bow down and heal someone who had kidnapped you, chained you up, and had you tased with a fucking cattle prod just because he was sick.

No.Not sick.

Dying.

He was dying.

You couldn’t quite tell from what, not without your powers back, and they weren’t back yet, but you could sense that he was dying.

Especially with all the desperate measures he was taking to make sure you healed him.They weren’t taking chances.They’d stolen you while you were weakened from healing Strange and about to lose your powers, they’d held you somewhere shielded from Loki somehow, kept you captive for days, and had brought you to the person you were supposed to heal before you got your powers back.You figured that they wanted you to be in the same room with him when your powers _did_ return in the hopes that you would jump automatically into healing him.

A normal healing you might’ve.

You had no intention of healing this asshole.

He had no intention of letting you leave once you did heal him.There was really no incentive for you to heal him and all the incentive in the world for you to kill him quickly and painfully and get the fuck out of here.

You didn’t want to know how they were going to try to force you to, though.Since you knew they were going to force you and you knew they had a plan.They had to in order to have successfully gotten this far.

So you had to come up with a better one.

And soon. 

Your powers would be back at any moment and you wouldn’t have much time once they had returned. 

You looked around the room for inspiration, but there was nothing useful. The room was sterile and hospital-like.There was nothing but the bed and machines, and of course the chain from the bedpost to the manacle around your ankle.

And of course the man in the bed, but he was unhelpful with helping you escape for some reason.

So your mind whirled, trying to think of what to do to get out of here.

You came up with one very simple answer and blamed your wonderful fiancé for it:

Lie

You were going to lie your ass off.

And you were nearly grinning at the thought of tricking these assholes.Loki would be proud.And then come make sure the assholes were extra dead.And probably kill Joe’s mom for you.Killing little old ladies was just outside of your comfort zone, even if she was in on this. You weren’t convinced that she was acting of her own accord or really knew what she was doing.

Loki wouldn’t care.

Plan ready, you glowered at Johan.“What makes you think I’m going to heal you?” You asked him.You might as well find out what his plan was while you were waiting for your powers to come back.

“Well, I had hoped that you would because you are a natural healer,” he said pleasantly before he started coughing.What could cause the coughing that he was dying from?

You shrugged.“Generally, I would gladly, but for some reason I find it less easy to find it in my heart to heal people when I’ve been kidnapped and tased with cattle prods,” you replied just as pleasantly.

He gave you a wicked smile. “I told you already, one little healing, and we’ll let you go, send you straight home to that overprotective fiancé of yours.Getting you away from your protectors for five minutes was quite the chore, especially when you were vulnerable.Had the Avengers just accepted my request in the first place, none of this would happen,” he told you before he started coughing again.

Great.He was monologuing. 

That wasn’t helpful right now.You knew his dastardly plan already.You needed to know how he was planning on making you cooperate besides just keeping you in the same room with him.

“So, I hope you’ll be cooperative and just heal me on your own, or I’ll have to get those nasty men with the cattle prods to convince you,” he told you.Ah, pain.That was his plan.Simple and usually effective.“I hope you will be more reasonable than that,” he told you.

You nodded.You weren’t going to invite pain.That wouldn’t go with your plan of lying to him anyway and you were glad that was already your plan.“When I get my powers back, I’ll take a look and see what I can do,” you replied.

He grinned at you. “I knew you would be reasonable, little healer,” he said in his weasel-y voice.You wanted to strangle him. Or rip out his tongue.Either way you never wanted to hear him speak in that condescending tone ever again. 

You huffed and rolled your eyes.“Are you going to make me keep standing until my powers come back?” You grumbled at him. He could’ve at least provided you a chair if he was going to make you spend time with him.

“It won’t be necessary,” he told you and you huffed again.He knew how close you were to getting your powers back.Shit.He knew way more than he should have.

You were going to have to move fast once your powers _did_ come back.

Which wasn’t long. 

You moved quickly when your powers came back.This moron didn’t know what he was up to, especially as he’d only blocked your teleportation abilities.However, you also wanted your curiosity sated, so you moved closer to him and looked him over with magic to see what the actual issue was.To see why he was so desperate for your help.

You knew instantly that you couldn’t heal this man.

Not because he was evil and didn’t deserve it. 

Not because he had kidnapped you or anything he’d done.

You literally _could not_ heal him. 

He was dying of multiple forms cancer and was too far gone from it. 

You couldn’t heal that much cancer and you couldn’t heal autoimmune diseases or anything of the like. 

You would be tethered to him for the rest of your life, constantly healing him and draining your powers to the bone just to keep him alive. 

He would kill you if he found out you couldn’t heal him.

You weren’t going to let that happen.

You pretended to take forever to evaluate him, letting your magic shimmer blue around you to look more convincing.Instead, you were feeling for the shielding that was keeping Loki from finding you. 

Pathetic shielding was being held by one mutant or witch.You didn’t know or care.You found her with your power and knocked her out before you punched a hole in the shield. 

/Loki!/ You called telepathically through the hole as you turned your attention back to Johan.

“You are the dumbest evil villain ever,” you informed him.He had a moment to look surprised before you used your healing power to destroy his body and turn him to red mist, just as you’d done to the men who’d kidnapped and tortured Loki. 

Loki appeared next to you as you were exploding the man into mist.“Hello, witchling,” he greeted you warmly, gently, but in his usual battle flirtations when he saw that you were relatively uninjured. “Are these people bothering you, dearest?” He asked you warmly as he wrapped his arms around you.

Your arms went around his waist and you nodded against his chest as you breathed in his scent, letting his presence calm you. “It’s their fault my ice cream melted!” You whined at him.“ _And_ they chained me up while I was without my powers instead of pampering me.It was _quite_ rude,” you informed him, indicating the manacle on your ankle. 

“Quite rude indeed,” Loki agreed and kissed you lightly.He knelt down and drew a dagger, carefully cutting the manacle away with the magic blade.“Come, darling, let’s take care of these rude people and get you home,” he told you warmly, wrapping his arm around your shoulders.

You made your way through the mansion, killing everyone who worked for Johan and Hydra.It was easy to tell the liars with your human shaped lie detector with you.The men with the cattle prods turned into mist for some strange reason.Loki didn’t fault you for it or question it.The others he killed.He still saved you from killing most of the time.You were a Lady of Asgard and a healer.While you were perfectly capable of defending yourself and obviously killing; it was the duty of the warriors to defend their ladies. So while you helped, Loki caused most of the actual death blows.You were both satisfied with the results. 

Loki turned to you when they were all taken care of.“What happened, darling?” He asked you when he’d pulled you back into his arms.You told him everything that had happened from when you’d gotten back to the tower until you broke through the shields. His grip on you tightened.“I’m so sorry, my darling, so very sorry.I should not have left you alone.I should have been able to find you, but even working together with Strange, we could not locate you until the shielding fell,” he told you with pain and desperation in his voice.

“I’m alright, Loki, I’m ok. You didn’t fail me.They tricked us all.I should’ve been safe in the garage of the tower.I should have been safe in broad daylight.I’m safe now.I’m here and I’m safe,” you reassured him, holding him tightly.

His arms tightened around you and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.“I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you, my love.I love you too much to lose you,” he told you and held you to him as if afraid he would lose you forever if his grip loosened.


	75. Chapter 75

Loki teleported the two of you back to the tower.You let him do the honors.It made him feel better to take care of you and you knew it, so you let him do it. You reappeared in the common room and his grip only loosened on you when you were safely back at the tower.The rest of the team jumped to their feet when you arrived and rushed over.They’d all been worried about you and all felt terrible that no one had been able to find you.Though Stark felt worst of all, since the garage should have been safe.He swore up and down that he increased the security on the garage so this would never happen again.You had no doubts on that point, especially as Loki wasn’t going to let you out of his sight when you were remotely vulnerable. 

*

The rest of your engagement sped past as you were busy with last minute wedding prep which was insanely difficult to do across the realms.Somehow you managed.You and Loki returned to Asgard a week before the wedding to finish the wedding prep with Mama Frigga.Thor would be bringing the rest of your friends for the wedding the day before.You had rooms set aside in the palace for them and they were getting tours of Asgard before hand. 

You weren’t expecting Lady Sif, Nat, and Wanda to take you out drinking the night before your wedding as an impromptu bachelorette party.So you all went to a tavern in the city next to the palace.Even Loki had to admit that Lady Sif, Nat, Wanda, and you were perfectly capable of defending yourselves if you ran into trouble.Not that you expected to, everyone in the kingdom knew who you were after you’d ruled by Loki’s side for months.Plus all of the nobles and foreign dignitaries from the nine realms were here for your wedding tomorrow. So of course all of the male workers at this tavern knew who you were when they saw your group.And somehow you saw quite a bit more of them than you ever wanted to.Apparently some bachelorette traditions transcended the realms.

You were still more impressed with Loki’s assets.But you were a bit biased on that subject.

Loki hated that you had to sleep apart that night, but the tradition was the same on Asgard as the one you knew that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.So you kissed him goodnight very well and retired to your own suite to try to get some sleep. 

The next day was going to be long.

*

At least Mama Frigga let you sleep in the next morning.You had a lovely breakfast with her, Sif, and Nat in Frigga’s sitting room.You spent the rest of the day getting your hair and makeup done and other last minute things.You really didn’t know where the time went.It all passed in a blur. 

Suddenly you found yourself standing outside of the throne room in a gorgeous white dress with Sif and Nat in their beautiful blue dresses, the exact color of your magic.“You ready for this?” Nat asked you with a smirk.

“A year and a day has been too long,” you whined at her in reply and she laughed.

All too soon the procession music started and Nat and Sif left you to make their way down the long aisle to stand in their places as your bridesmaids.Once they were in place, the music changed and the double doors opened again and you slowly made your solitary way down the long aisle full of nobles up to the throne where Loki waited for you.He was dressed in his formal finery, including his golden horned helmet.

At least Frigga had promised the ceremony should be short as the engagement hand-fasting was the long ceremony.This was just a confirmation that you were still committed to being married. 

You felt everyone’s eyes on you as they stood to watch you walk down the aisle and kept reminding yourself not to trip, to stand tall, to not drop your flowers.All of your thoughts left your head when Loki’s eyes caught yours, when you saw the love and adoration in his eyes, when it took every ounce of his self control to not let his mouth drop open when he saw you in your wedding dress.You took his open amazement for the compliment it was. 

You made your way to him and handed your bouquet to Sif to hold.It was one of her jobs, after all.Loki had Thor and Bucky as his groomsmen and you weren’t at all surprised.Bucky was Loki’s best human friend and Thor was his brother, the two would be side by side in all things. 

You took Loki’s hands in yours and Frigga stepped up to you as she did at your engagement ceremony.“A year and a day ago my son, Loki Odinson and his lady Sigyn Freyadottir pledged their commitment to each other and before all of us to join their houses in marriage.Today we come together again to seal the bond in matrimony,” she looked at Loki.“Do you still wish to take Lady Sigyn as your wife, my son?” She asked him warmly.

He inclined his head.“I do,” he said with a bright honest smile.You loved seeing him so happy.

Freya turned to you next.“And do you still wish to take Prince Loki as your husband?” She asked just as warmly, just as formally.

You couldn’t take your eyes off of your Loki.“I do,” you replied. 

Frigga drew her golden cord from wherever she had hidden it and wrapped it gently around yours and Loki’s joined hands.“As your hands are bound together now, so your lives and spirits are joined in the commitment of love and trust. For always you hold in your own hands the fate of this union. Above you are stars and below you is earth. Like stars your love should be a constant source of light, and like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow. May these hands be blessed this day. May they always hold each other. May they have the strength to hang on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. May they remain tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their wondrous love. May they build a relationship founded in love, and rich in caring. May these hands be healer, protector, shelter, and guide for each other,” it was the same speech she’d had at your engagement ceremony, but it ended differently.She unbound your hands and handed you each a ring.“As you cannot be bound together physically for the rest of your lives, may these rings be a symbol of your eternal connection,” Frigga told you both.Loki lifted your left hand and slipped the slim ring onto your ring finger.It matched your engagement ring perfectly. You did the same, slipping his wedding band onto his left hand as well. 

“May I present to you for the first time, Prince Loki and his wife, Princess Sigyn.Loki, you may kiss your bride,” she announced.Loki dipped you backwards and kissed you well to roars of applause from the gathered nobles and dignitaries, plus your friends and family.

Once the kiss was over, the pair of you led the procession to the feast.You had a table to yourselves, but only got to eat when Thor and your friends held the well-wishers at bay long enough for you to get some food.The night was wonderful and full of dancing, plenty of drinks, and an occasional bite of something to eat.Mostly, you accepted your well-wishes from your friends and family, and of course the 12,000 dignitaries. 

Per tradition, you and Loki shared a goblet of mead.You couldn’t help laughing when Thor came over to place Mjolnir on your lap.Loki growled at him. “It’s tradition, brother!” Thor replied innocently.It was tradition for Mjolnir or a replica of it to be placed in the lap of the bride as a prayer to Thor for offspring.Thor was also a god of fertility among other things, and his hammer, well… it was a symbol of said fertility. 

At the end of the evening, Thor’s idiot friends and Thor himself lifted the pair of you on their shoulders to carry you to Loki’s suite.Which was also tradition to escort the newly weds to the marriage bed to ensure the marriage was consummated.At least you didn’t have to do that in front of them.Because that wouldn’t happen.Ever.

Your lips met Loki’s the second you were alone and you weren’t sure who initiated the kisses, which of you initiated more than kisses, or where your clothes disappeared off to. That wasn’t important at the moment.“I love you, my wife,” Loki purred huskily in your ear as you fell into bed.

“I love you, my husband,” you purred in reply before your lips met his again.


	76. Epilogue

Years passed and you and Loki split your time between working on Midgard with the Avengers and spending time on Asgard.Loki was being groomed to take the throne officially, though he still denied that he was even being considered to be named proper heir.You let him have his delusions.Thor didn’t want the throne and Loki had done such a good job while Odin was in the Odinsleep.Such a good job in fact, that every year you and Loki assumed the throne for a couple of months so they could tour the realms.Thor didn’t have to do that.Loki still tried to believe that it was punishment.Or so he whined at you, but you knew he was being groomed to be named official heir. 

He and Odin were both too proud to admit it.

So you kept your suites in the palace of Asgard and your apartment at the Avengers tower and were welcomed eagerly in either place. 

One morning while you were living at the tower you frantically got out of bed way too early in the morning. “Sig?” Loki asked groggily, his arm tightening around you as you tried to get out of the bed.It had been a long night, he’d gotten back late from a mission he’d been on.You’d stayed behind since you were without your powers and promised Loki not to leave the nice safe tower.He’d trusted you here with Stark’s protections and the repulser watch you took to wearing when you were without your powers.

But that was neither here nor there.

“Go back to sleep, love.I’ll be home soon,” you told him, pressing a kiss to his forehead and stroking his hair to soothe him back to sleep.

Your words had the opposite effect as his eyes snapped open and his grip tightened around you.“Sig, it’s four in the morning, where could you possibly need to go out of the tower at four in the morning?” He asked, still tired, but paying attention now.He knew you well enough to know you didn’t go wandering around the city at 4am for no good reason. 

“The drug store,” you said a little sheepishly.There was an item there that you desperately needed.

Loki gave you a look and pulled you back against his side to go back to sleep. “The drug store will still be open at a reasonable hour of the morning, witchling,” he told you quite logically, if sleepily.You didn’t blame him for wanting to go back to bed, but your task was urgent. You huffed and pushed your way out of Loki’s arms.He woke properly at that, knowing for sure now that something was wrong.“Darling?What is it?What do you need from the store that can’t wait until morning?” He asked, sitting up in the bed and giving you his proper attention. He knew something was wrong.You wouldn’t be so insistent to leave the tower at 4am otherwise. 

You looked up into his eyes so you could watch his reaction to your words and your phrased your response carefully.He would know what you meant without you having to spell it out for him.You weren’t sure how he would take the news, even the possibility, and he was so good at hiding his feelings.You had to watch him carefully.

Your voice was soft and small and scared when you finally spoke.

“It’s been four days and my powers haven’t returned,”

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE END (...for now)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki and the Healer’s story will continue in a sequel to begin soon


End file.
